BattleMage, Book 01: Control
by Ryan Slicer
Summary: Ranma seeks to find a way to gain some control over his chaotic life. Of course some of that control is given up to Nabiki Tendo for some Social training. Takes place after the wedding. A revised version of Love of a Cheetah: Prelude
1. Foreward

**WARNING:** While there will be no actual 'Lemon' content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

**Disclaimer:** The rights to 'Ranma 1/2' are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. The rights to 'Gold Digger' are owned by its creator, Fred Perry. The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators. This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.

**Notes:** While drawing primarily from the original 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series, some elements and characters from the 'Ranma 1/2' Anime series may also be utilized. This is BOTH a 'Continuation' and an 'Alternate Universe' fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of 'Ranma 1/2' and 'Gold Digger', meaning: the characters WILL be 'Out-of-Character' to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree. This fan-fiction is also a 'Crossover', combining elements from the two aforementioned sources. For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry's 'Gold Digger' series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.

Furthermore, it is 'presumed' that the events of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series take place over more than one year of time, as there is little, if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon. Therefore, Ranma and Akane are juniors at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kuno are seniors.

**Timeframe:** Immediately following the failed wedding attempt at the end of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series; there are several months remaining until the end of the current school year at Furinkan High... ('Gold Digger' timeframe will become apparent when introduced into the story.)

**Website**: Originally the website would have pointed to the forums where I had others review, discuss and workout the storyline when I gave the idea. Now this story has a home of its own. You can reach it at h t t p / s e i k y o (dot) d y n d n s (dot) o r g /

BattleMage

By

Ryan Slicer  
(original story concept, writing and guidance)

&

Tai Khan  
(general story expander, editor and sounding board)

Book One: Control

Forward

About a year ago, I started writing a fan fiction idea for a Ranma ½ and Gold Digger crossover titled: Love of a Cheetah. The original idea was just to show a different side of the Ranma cast had he received a baby of no more than a few months old from a friend that he found on one of his training trips after the failed wedding attempt. During the original storyline, many were appalled by the writing style I threw out there and many of the reviews didn't help in the progression of the story. After the first, failed, attempt to get the story out I decided a rewrite was needed, as well as adding more background. This second attempt proved much better with the help of others in requesting more information and showing how things occurred to the state at which Ranma received the child without trying to give too much of the back storyl, and working out the present situation that I worked the Ranma ½ cast into with the introduction of the baby. Still many wanted more information of how Ranma was given the child.

During this debate of how to do give the information people wanted, and reviewing the story once again, but with the current story expander, I decided to bunker down and write the original three months that the reader didn't get to see in a short, outlined format so that they could have the information that they wanted. Posting the fourth chapter, first part, gave the opportunity to put out the first part of the short story for the prelude, titled: Love of a Cheetah: Prelude. This gave people enough information as to how the relationship started between Ranma and Nabiki in the original story and something for myself to revert back to with certain bits of information coming out in the newer chapters of Love of a Cheetah.

While working on the next part for chapter four, part two, it was decided between Tai Khan and myself that the prelude needed to be worked out more. Needless to say, the next part for chapter four will not be completed in its present format. After the quick debate, we researched and looked over everything that we would need to do to write the story the way it should have originally started, after the wedding attempt. This will prove to be one of the better ideas we've had about the story since it's first appearance. We are hoping to show the Ranma cast in a different light, one that few may have thought of, but haven't explored to its fullest. This will place the characters of both the Ranma ½ and the Gold Digger series in completely different lights as they grow and mature past the original ending to the Ranma ½ series and beginnings of Gold Digger. As it has been stated in the disclaimer and notes, many will feel that the characters will be out of context based upon their original creators design. This is the way we've ment it to be, to work with the characters the best way possible, while still keeping in the information of what the characters do and say as time continues. So we're not doing this on purpose to piss people off.

I would like to announce the original story, redone and maybe revamped a few times during the course of the series: BattleMage. A Ranma ½ and Gold Digger Alternative Universe and Crossover.


	2. Decisions

**WARNING:** While there will be no actual 'Lemon' content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

**Disclaimer:** The rights to 'Ranma 1/2' are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. The rights to 'Gold Digger' are owned by its creator, Fred Perry. The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators. This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.

**Notes:** While drawing primarily from the original 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series, some elements and characters from the 'Ranma 1/2' Anime series may also be utilized. This is BOTH a 'Continuation' and an 'Alternate Universe' fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of 'Ranma 1/2' and 'Gold Digger', meaning: the characters WILL be 'Out-of-Character' to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree. This fan-fiction is also a 'Crossover', combining elements from the two aforementioned sources. For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry's 'Gold Digger' series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.

Furthermore, it is 'presumed' that the events of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series take place over a span of less than one year, as there is little, if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon. Therefore, Ranma and Akane are still freshman at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kuno are juniors.

**Timeframe:** Immediately following the failed wedding attempt at the end of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series; there are several months remaining until the end of the current school year at Furinkan High... ('Gold Digger' timeframe will become apparent when introduced into the story.)

**BATTLE MAGE**

**By**

**Ryan Slicer**

original story concept, writing and guidance

**&**

**Tai Khan**

general story expander, editor and sounding board)

**Book One: Control**

**Part One: Decisions**

Ranma-chan sat up with a groan, one small hand moving to the back of her head to gingerly probe at a good-sized bump. Determining that the swelling was already going down, she took the time to check the rest of her body and clothes for injury or damage. Fortunately, aside from numerous bruises and scratches, she seemed relatively uninjured. The same, however, could not be said for the tuxedo that the 'Dimwitted Duo' of Genma and Soun had dressed her in for 'his' surprise wedding; it was a total loss, being torn, singed and stained. Apparently, Happosai's bomb had blown her completely out of the dojo and into the garden, without the benefit of utilizing one of the already existing exits as evidenced by the large hole in one wall.

Naturally, as seemed to have become the norm for her life, it suddenly began to rain...heavily, adding further insult to what had already been a miserable day for her.

Sighing, she carefully rose to her feet, in case she had sustained an injury that had not been readily apparent, and slowly made her way back into the dojo. Not surprisingly, the interior of the dojo was an utter shambles, with food and wedding decorations strewn all over, another sizeable hole in the floor where Happosai's bomb had detonated and, of course, the jagged hole in the wall her own passage through said wall had created. Ranma-chan had no doubt that she would be blamed for the wedding's failure, nor that she would be held responsible for cleaning up the mess and repairing the damages.

She paused as she caught sight of the remains of the cask that had contained a supposed cure for her Jusenkyo curse. While it was true that she had, more or less, resigned herself to spending much of the rest of her life as a girl upon occasion, that did not mean that she would not continue to hope for an eventual cure. A frown appeared on her face as she recalled why the cask was there in the first place, as well as Soun Tendo's use of it in an attempt to force her into marrying his youngest daughter, Akane.

Akane...

Ranma-chan realized that she was going to have to totally reevaluate her feelings concerning the youngest Tendo as she began wringing out as much water as she could from her tattered clothing and hair, shuffling her way along the covered walkway and into the house proper. Before today's events, Ranma had believed that Akane was different from the other girls chasing her, who seemed willing to use almost any means to trap her into marriage against her will. Akane, however, had proven that belief to be in error.

Sure, Akane had been willing to marry her, but NOT because she loved her (attempting to get Ranma to admit that she'd already said she loved her, but unwilling to admit any such feeling for her in return), or so that Ranma could be cured of the Jusenkyo curse (Akane hadn't even mentioned the cask of Nanniichuan being in the house, until she'd indicated that she might not go through with the wedding. Even then, Akane had revealed its existence in the form of a threat if she DID NOT marry her). No, Akane had been willing to marry her for one reason and one reason only...to win! To beat out all the other girls after her by becoming her 'wife', so she could flaunt her victory, and supposed superiority, in the faces of her rivals...just as she'd done during the Super Soba Noodles and the Battle Dogi incidents.

"Oh, Ranma-kun!" Kasumi's angelic voice exclaimed suddenly, causing Ranma-chan to look up as she entered the house to see the eldest Tendo daughter at the end of the hall. "You're soaked to the bone," Kasumi then said worriedly, as a frown appeared on her face. "Didn't Father and Uncle Saotome bring you inside as I asked them to, before they left?"

"Guess not, Kasumi," Ranma-chan sighed, undoing the string that held her pigtail in place. A quick shake of her head and running her fingers through her hair seemed to rid it of most of the remaining water. Alas, she was still cold, wet, and sore. A good long soak in a hot furo would do wonders for her mood right now.

Kasumi must have been having similar thoughts, as she handed the smaller girl a large fluffy towel from out of nowhere and said, "I'll go make sure the furo is still hot enough for use, Ranma-kun. Why don't you go on upstairs and get your bathing things." And with that, Kasumi headed off to the bathing room leaving Ranma-chan to her thoughts once more.

----

"Ahhh..." Ranma groaned softly, easing himself down into the hot water of the furo, barely noticing the full-body tingle of his return to being male after a cold-water washing of his girl-form. Leaning back against the side of the furo, he allowed himself to relax and let the hot water begin its work on easing his body's aches and pains.

As he soaked, Ranma's thoughts returned to the wedding attempt and the actions of those involved in its failure. Truthfully, he could not blame Ryouga or Mu Tsu for trying to get the cask of Nanniichuan water once they had seen it. Nor could he even really blame Happosai for drinking it, as who brings casks of water to a wedding? His father, on the other hand... Damn it! His worthless father KNEW how much he wanted a cure! He KNEW how the curse jeopardized their lives because of that damned seppuku pledge! He KNEW how it made him feel like less of a man! And yet, the worthless bastard hadn't even given his own son a passing thought as he attempted to take the cask of Nanniichuan water for his own personal use and to hell with anyone else!

And Soun Tendo... A debt was now owed. Supposedly, the Jusenkyo Guide had sent the cask of Nanniichuan water in gratitude for Ranma's assistance in restoring Jusenkyo to working order. That water had been HIS, and instead of presenting it to Ranma for whom it was intended, Soun had instead held it for ransom. Akane would not even be alive if not for what Ranma had been forced to do, and that sniveling, backstabbing, cowardly... He DARED deny him his cure!? Oh yes, a debt was most definitely owed, and one day Ranma WOULD collect.

Xian Pu and Ukyo, at the very least, were in for a serious talking to. Explosives! They had actually been throwing explosives around, without any apparent regard for the safety of others in their attempt to derail the wedding. Kuno...was going to be visiting the hospital very soon. He had gone too far this time, bringing bared steel to the wedding attempt, and thinking he had ANY right to interfere in Saotome-Tendo family affairs. Kodachi... He shuddered, and decided to just continue avoiding her as best he could for now.

Ranma sank deeper into the water, his thoughts turning to something he had been considering ever since Jusendo...a 'solo' training trip. Originally, it had just been a vague idea, something he was thinking of doing at some point in the future, possibly after graduating high school, if he could keep the girls in check that long. There was no way he could marry ANYONE with as screwed up as his life presently was and he needed to give everything SERIOUS thought, without interference or interruption from the others, which was something he couldn't do in Nerima. Maybe not even in Japan.

As things stood, he had little to no control of any aspect of his life. And as for the future...

There was no help for it, as the wedding fiasco had clearly shown, something needed to be done and soon, before someone was seriously hurt or worse. He was going to have to get away from everyone and all of his problems for a time. He needed to make some decisions and, hopefully, find some solutions. The only question remaining was how to go about doing so...without having everyone follow him and ruin the very reason for his journey.

----.

Nabiki closed the ledger she had been updating and leaned back in her desk chair, lifting her hands to rub at her temples. Like it or not, she would have to dip into her own funds to cover some of the remaining costs of repairing the dojo. Not that she would not regain the funds later from those responsible, but it was always annoying when she had to do so.

To say that the wedding had not gone according to the fathers' plans would be an understatement. Of course, her own plans for the wedding's 'failure' had not gone exactly according to plan, either. Although, Nabiki's plans had still managed to succeed in their goal...if at a slightly higher cost in damages than expected. Admittedly, she had grossly underestimated the desperation of those involved to prevent Ranma from marrying her little sister and she had not planned on the presence of the Nanniichuan, which had resulted in the greater severity of the damages, but even so...

Nabiki sighed at the necessity, but there was no avoiding what needed to be done. Everyone had crossed a line during the wedding fiasco and, this time, there would be consequences...even if those consequences were nothing more than an official record of their own involvement in the fiasco. Xian Pu and Ukyo had been tossing around explosives almost indiscriminately, as had Happosai, and Kuno-baka had dared to bring bared steel into her home. What would be next? Firearms? Actually filing any legal charges against any of them would not be likely to go anywhere, especially as it was unlikely that any of the overly stubborn and overly prideful members of her own family or the Saotomes would support her efforts. An official record of the escalating violence and property damage, however, could do wonders in protecting oneself in a court of law later if forced to take drastic measures in protecting one's family and home.

Nabiki's gaze drifted across her bedroom to her chest-of-drawers and down to the hidden space beneath the bottom drawer. There were other reasons to avoid bringing the authorities into her family's affairs, if it could be avoided. Reasons she wished to keep hidden until the time was right. Too many questions, directed towards the wrong people, at the wrong time, and they could lose everything.

Nabiki's thoughts then turned to more immediate concerns, or more specifically, they turned towards a certain individual, a guest in her home. Her mood turned more melancholy as she contemplated what Ranma must have been feeling about now...what his feelings would be towards her and her manipulation of recent events, specifically. Truthfully, she could privately admit that she'd grown more than a little fond of the naive jerk over the time he'd lived in her home and no longer held any objections to his eventually becoming a 'real' member of her family. She honestly wished that she could tell him the truth, tell him why she continually interfered in his life and why she had taken steps to ensure that he never married her little sister until she deemed the time was right. However, he had too many factors working against her trusting him with what she knew and suspected of their fathers' plans for Akane and him. Moreover, until some of those liabilities could be removed, or minimized, she could not risk telling him what she knew. As for telling Akane or Kasumi...Nabiki had learned long ago that her little sister could not keep a secret if her life depended on it, never mind the lives of others. Akane's volatile temper and lack of emotional control made her all too susceptible to blurting things out that were best left unspoken. And Kasumi...far too obedient to Soun's whims and too traditional. For now at least, Nabiki was on her own.

Still, Ranma had to be dealt with and soon. The last thing she needed or wanted was for him to finally get fed up with it all and take off for points unknown with no intentions of ever returning. Nabiki had never been anyone's fool, she knew that even Ranma's much-vaunted honor, sense of duty and ability to forgive transgressions against him had limits. She simply hoped that she had not already surpassed those limits. She had not missed the fact that since he had returned from his most recent adventure in China that he had been quieter and more withdrawn. And despite her best efforts, short of blackmail, she had been unable to get any of those involved in that adventure to tell her more than a few spotty details. Whatever had occurred in China, though, had been sufficiently traumatic enough for Akane to make obvious efforts to get along with her unwanted fiancé, and for Genma to encourage Soun to setup the surprise wedding attempt in short order.

Recalling having overheard Ranma and Kasumi talking downstairs, followed shortly thereafter by the sounds of Ranma trudging slowly upstairs to his room and then shortly heading back downstairs, Nabiki surmised that Ranma was likely soaking in the furo at present. Slowly, a lecherous grin spread across Nabiki's face as she entertained the naughty thought of joining Ranma in the furo. While it was true that she had no real 'romantic' interest in the younger Saotome, she had never made any secret of the fact that she found him physically attractive...in either of his forms, actually. Yet, despite Ranma's penchant for running around barely dressed, and on occasion completely naked, in his girl-form...to Nabiki's knowledge, only Akane, and possibly Xian Pu with her habit of sneaking in to join Ranma in the furo, had ever seen Ranma's male-form fully unclothed. There were numerous girls, and not a few adult women, at Furinkan High that would pay good money to know if Ranma was actually endowed like his namesake.

_'Hmm, let's see...'_ Nabiki thought, giving the idea of joining Ranma in the furo serious consideration. She had always possessed a slight exhibitionist streak, so exposing herself to Ranma was not any problem, and she was more than a little curious about Ranma's endowments herself. _'Waterworks and Panda-baka headed for the bars shortly after things settled down to drown their sorrows, so they likely won't be back 'til very late tonight at the earliest. Happosai's taken off for parts unknown... Wonder what 'drinking' Jusenkyo water can do to you? Hmm. Akane went out with her friends to bury her troubles and anger under a mountain of ice cream and she'll probably end up staying over at Sayuri or Yuka's house tonight. Everyone else, if they possess any intelligence at all, will likely be keeping a low profile for a while, at least around Ranma. And Kasumi would never walk in on anyone in the furo...'_

Nabiki's grin grew even larger as she began gathering her own bathing things. A confrontation with Ranma over her involvement in spoiling the wedding attempt was going to happen sooner or later in any case, so she might as well deal with it sooner rather than later. And joining Ranma, nude, in the furo would allow her to set the pace and tone of their discussion from the outset. The trick would be to keep him from bolting until she was ready to let him go.

----

Ranma's thoughts of the things he'd need to gather and do in preparation for his upcoming solo training trip were interrupted by the sound of the bathing room door sliding open, then closed a moment later. Opening his eyes, Ranma stiffened reflexively as he found himself looking into the amused brown eyes of a smirking, completely naked, Nabiki. Despite his best efforts not to, Ranma's eyes involuntarily traversed down Nabiki's nude form, noting her full, firm, spherically rounded breasts, which were capped with small dark nipples. Her breasts were well into the 'C'-cup range, yet firm enough that she didn't really require a bra for support, not yet at least, but that would likely change in a few more years. His gaze descended lower, across her smoothly toned abdomen, to the dark patch of her pubic hair, which he noted she kept neatly trimmed into a small inverted triangle the bottom point of which ended above her smoothly shaved... Ranma jerked his gaze back to her face and her slightly broader smirk, which had grown almost into a full smile.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you, Saotome," Nabiki began before Ranma could say anything, strolling slowly and provocatively over to one of the washing stools, feeling her own arousal heighten as she reveled in his gaze upon her. Her own glances to take in his nude form were somewhat thwarted by the distortions created by the water in which he sat. She gave a quick thought of flashing him, bent over at the waist, legs straight and slightly parted, displaying all she had to offer, but decided against it...she only wished to entice and tease, not make an offer she wasn't willing to go through with. So instead, she demurely turned to one side as she reached the bathing stool, carefully sitting down side-on to him, setting her rinsing bowl and bathing supplies to one side. "But after appraising the damages and going over the finances, I felt in need of a good long soak in the furo myself and didn't feel like waiting for you finish up," she continued, carefully filling her rinse bowl with lukewarm water from the tap and wetting herself down. "Besides, I'm sure you have a few things you'd like to say to me about recent events and now would be the best time for us to talk privately, while most everyone's out or not likely to make an appearance anytime soon."

Ranma, on his part, was torn between angrily yelling at the girl, vacating the vicinity before anyone caught him in the same room with a naked girl, and...enjoying the view. Yelling, however, would only get him even further in debt, most likely. He had asked Kasumi as to the whereabouts of the others after he had retrieved his bathing things and Nabiki was correct in that they were not likely to be disturbed anytime soon, unless it was by Kasumi, which was highly unlikely. And as for enjoying the view...

Further consideration of the situation, Nabiki's penchant for stirring up mischief, and the unwillingness of the others to EVER believe him if there was a contradictory explanation that cast him in a bad light, had Ranma coming to a foregone conclusion... He was likely to end up on the receiving end of a severe beating no matter what he did, stay or go. So...

A slight smirk of his own became barely visible on Ranma's face as he decided, for once, that if he was going to end up taking a beating for the actions of another...then by the Kami he was going to get something out of it this time. Furthermore, it would prove interesting to see if Nabiki was truly as 'worldly' and 'experienced' as she wished everyone to believe. Despite the mask of sexual naiveté and ignorance he habitually wore since arriving at the Tendos, Ranma had likely witnessed more sexual activity and nudity in pleasure houses and back alleys across much of the world during his training trip with his far-from-celibate father than the entire student body and faculty of Furinkan High School, combined. In all honestly, it was a minor miracle that he was still a virgin...well, 'technically' still a virgin, and hadn't fallen prey at a very early age to one of the many women of the pleasure houses his father had dragged him into and left in their care while his father took advantage of their services. He was continually on the lookout for the sudden appearance of any half-brothers/sisters to show up as, unless Genma had been shooting 'blanks' all those years, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So, instead of trying to make an attempt to bolt from the room, as he was sure Nabiki was expecting, Ranma just made himself more comfortable in the furo...and didn't make any effort to maintain his usual strict control over a certain portion of his anatomy, allowing nature to run its course. Silently watching Nabiki bathe, he had to admit that she was very well built and athletically toned without being overly muscular, like her younger sister. Akane was probably unaware of it, but as long as she maintained her regimen of lifting weights, jogging and 'watching her diet', she would always possess thick thighs and small breasts, unless she gained an understanding of the term 'body sculpting'. Idly, Ranma wondered what Nabiki did to keep her figure the way she did, what with the way she appeared to always be snacking and he'd never actually seen her do any kind of 'real' exercise regimen, save for a bit of yoga and leg exercises now and then.

Unconsciously, Ranma began comparing the various girls he knew with Nabiki's body. Xian Pu certainly had larger, fuller breasts and slightly wider hips, with an overall softer appearance due to an excess of body fat over her strongly muscled frame. He strongly suspected that if it were not for her martial training and excessively energetic behavior, Xian Pu would likely become a rather plump woman in short order, instead of presently possessing a face and figure that practically screamed, 'Cuddle me!' Ukyo, if he remembered correctly, possessed breasts a bit smaller than Nabiki's, but more conical in shape and not quite as firm in appearance (although, it had been quite some time since he'd last seen them exposed, so they may have grown larger since then) and while their waists and hips were about the same, they both possessed exceptionally eye-catching backsides, with Nabiki's being just a bit rounder and higher set. Kodachi he had never seen in the nude, although her habitual leotards often left virtually nothing to the imagination, but he knew she possessed small, but firm breasts and her gymnastics practice had graced her with long, powerful legs and a shapely firm backside.

Nabiki shivered a bit as she rinsed herself off with cold water from the tap, grateful for the fact that her body's reaction to the cold water easily masked just how aroused she actually was. She had been rather surprised when Ranma had made no effort to escape the room, instead leaning back more comfortably in the furo and watching her bathe. And for a time, she'd actually slipped into a fantasy where she'd been a slave girl preparing herself to please her new master in the bath and, as a result, she'd paid a bit more attention to 'cleaning' her breasts and nether regions than she normally would have under her 'master's' watchful gaze. Forcing her fantasy to the back of her mind for later retrieval and use, and sighing wistfully at the fact that Ranma was unlikely to ever have the courage to treat any girl as a sex-slave, least of all herself, she quickly finished rinsing the remaining soap from her body. Then, firmly settling her expression into her usual knowing smirk, she rose from the bathing stool and slowly walked to the opposite end of the furo from where Ranma sat, ensuring that he received a good look of her softly swaying backside, before turning to face him and step forward to the edge of the furo. To her surprise, Nabiki found Ranma wearing a virtually identical smirk to her own, which unsettled and puzzled her more than a little, as it was not an expression she could ever recall him as having worn before. Then her gaze, driven by her insatiable curiosity, dropped down to his crotch and... _'No FREAKIN' way!'_ Nabiki mentally screamed as she took in the sight of the monolith rising up from the juncture of Ranma's thighs.

Ranma's smirk had grown when he noted how Nabiki's eyes widened in astonishment after dropping to his crotch. On the one hand, Ranma was exceedingly proud of his well-above-average endowment, which easily dwarfed all the others he'd ever seen save for a few guys in some of the hentai mags Hiroshi and Daisuke were continually showing up with...and even then, those guys were almost exclusively gaijin. On the other hand, and especially since acquiring his Jusenkyo curse, he was all too aware of how intimidating his large endowment could be from a girl's point of view. It was, in fact, for that very reason that he had never teased Akane about how she had screamed after walking in on him in the furo that first time. He had not been fully erect, as he was now, but he had not been entirely flaccid either. He would have likely screamed as well, if the same situation had occurred to him while in his cursed form and he had had no more knowledge of boys or sex than Akane seemed to possess.

Ranma's eyes widened to nearly the same proportions as Nabiki's own, however, when in her astonished daze Nabiki's leading foot caught on the lip of the furo and she lurched forward, clearly about to suffer a rather painful fall into the furo with him. Sliding forward in the furo as best he could, Ranma lifted his arms intending to catch her and break her fall as she fell forward. Unfortunately, his hands were wet, as was her own skin, and his hands slipped off Nabiki's sides her fall only coming to a halt when her torso slammed into his own pushing him back nearly beneath the surface of the water with a great deal of splashing and a loud cry on Nabiki's part.

Quickly regaining an upright position, Ranma became aware of several sensations all at once. First was that Nabiki was now all but sitting in his lap, her arms and legs wrapped tightly about him, and her full bosom was pressed firmly against his chest. Second, was the fact that his erect member was trapped between them and pressing firmly against Nabiki's abdomen. Finally, was that his hands had dropped down beneath the surface of the water and were presently cupping Nabiki's firm and shapely bottom.

_'Any moment now,'_ Ranma thought, fully expecting Nabiki to start screaming and hitting him, or for someone to burst into the bathing room and catch him in such a compromising position with the middle Tendo daughter. _'Have to admit though, this feels nice,'_ he thought, and despite his better judgment began to hesitantly knead and caress Nabiki's bottom. _'Very nice.'_

For her own part, Nabiki was recovering from the adrenaline surge of her near painful fall and just becoming aware of her present position. Her breasts pillowed against Ranma's firmly masculine chest. His long and thick shaft pressing firmly against her tummy, throbbing gently with his heartbeat. The feel of his scrotum rubbing against the labia of her own sex. And the soothing caress of his hands upon her bottom. _'Oooh, that feels nice,'_ she thought and unconsciously ground her sex against his, eliciting even greater sensations of pleasure, before ruthlessly slapping her libido down and pulling away from Ranma to meet his gaze. Before she could say anything, however...

"Really, Nabiki, you don't have to be so forward," he said with a smirk that reminded Nabiki far too much of her own whenever she caught Ranma in a compromising position. "If you really want to take up the engagement again, all you had to do was ask. You don't have to throw yourself at me. But I do have to warn you...I'm an 'ass man'. And you've certainly got a better one than your younger sister." Ranma emphasized his final statement with a firm squeeze of her butt cheeks, before teasingly beginning to explore the territory in between with his fingertips.

"Ranma!" Nabiki barked warningly, pulling her upper body further away from him to glare at him, but surprisingly reluctant to fully extract herself from his reach. His hands felt REALLY good on her bottom. "Don't you--" she began, only to be interrupted as the door to the changing room was thrown open and a concerned Kasumi stuck her head in.

"Ranma?! Are you alri--" Kasumi began, only to go wide-eyed at the scene before her. "Nabiki?!"

Ranma could not help himself, he was on a roll and he had to ruthlessly suppress the urge to grin madly as he said, "She's caught us, Koi. Although, if we hurry, we can probably get in a quickie before she tells our fathers and they can arrange another wedding. Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for that 'threesome' idea you've been hinting at. How 'bout it, Kas-chan? Wanna join us for some hot sex in the furo?"

Nabiki was speechless, for once being caught in a highly embarrassing situation that was controlled by another. If it had been anyone else, other than Ranma, she would likely have recovered control of the situation faster, but as it was, she could only gape at him. Then gape at Kasumi, as while she blushed scarlet in embarrassment, she actually seemed to give the idea of a 'threesome' some thought.

"Umm...uhhh...m-maybe...another t-time, Ranma-kun. N-Nabiki...we'll...t-talk later, after you've... Oh dear... Uhh... P-please be sure to clean the furo after you've... Oh my!" And with that, Kasumi quickly closed the door and left them alone.

"So..." Ranma began, after a few moments of silence, waggling his eyebrows and adopting the most lecherous grin he could manage, "still wanna try for the quickie, Nabs?"

That question, combined with Ranma's continued fondling of her bottom and his expression, finally kicked Nabiki's thoughts back on track and she forcibly pushed herself away from him, moving as far from him as she could without actually vacating the furo.

"All right, who are you, and where's Ranma?" she demanded, glaring at the boy across from her. It was not a silly question either, considering such individuals as Copycat Ken.

"I'm right here, Nabiki," Ranma sighed, moving to sit back against the side of the furo directly across from her.

"Bull! The REAL Ranma doesn't have the balls or experience to pull off what you just did," Nabiki growled.

"You've never met the 'real' Ranma," he replied, his own voice carrying a hint of anger. "No one in Nerima really has. No one's even tried to look beneath the surface, to look past their own selfish wants and desires and discover who I REALLY am! Probably because they're afraid that the person they'd find wouldn't fit into their own twisted views of who I should be."

"Alright then, who are you really?" Nabiki asked warily. Well-accustomed to presenting a false front to the world and keeping her 'real' self hidden, Nabiki did not find the idea of Ranma doing something similar too far outside the realm of possibility...but it WAS a stretch.

"And why should I tell you?" Ranma snapped back. "What makes you think that you're any different from everyone else? To Akane, I'm a threat to her delusions of adequacy, a perverted freak of nature that was forced upon her by her own family, and a prize to be won to prove herself, somehow, better than the other girls chasing me. To your father, I'm the 'son' he never had, the one who can finally remove his guilt for abandoning his daughters to raise themselves. To my own father, I'm his ticket to an early retirement and a life of relative ease without responsibilities. To my mother, I'm a means of getting grandchildren that she can raise into her twisted ideals of how men and women should behave, BUT for which she would not be accountable for if something goes wrong. And to you...

"You see me as a source of cheap entertainment and a means of making a few quick yen, while satisfying your own sadistic need to embarrass and humiliate others to make yourself feel superior," Ranma growled. "So tell me, Tendo-san...just why the hell do you think I should tell you anything? Why should I give you even more things to use against me, when you're willing to endanger the life of your own SISTER to get your jollies?!"

----

Kasumi's thoughts ran rampant as she walked quickly away from the furo, going from one extreme to the next. _'Was Ranma serious about inviting me to join himself and Nabiki? What about Akane? Does he find me of interest sexually, or was he offering to let me join in out of sympathy? What about Nabiki? How long has she been having an affair with Little Brother? Does Akane know?'_ Stepping back into her kitchen, Kasumi began pulling various ingredients out of the refrigerator and cabinets. _'Ranma referred to Nabiki so intimately...and she looked so comfortable in his embrace. Could they have gotten married secretly? Is that why Nabiki invited the others to the wedding? To make certain Little Brother didn't marry Akane, because he is already married?'_

Kasumi was far from being the oblivious little housewife she often portrayed and was fully aware of the chaos that could erupt if word got out that Ranma had married anyone before certain problems had been dealt with, let alone Nabiki. Still, she had always prided herself on being very observant of her surroundings and her family in particularly... How could she have missed how close Ranma and Nabiki had obviously become?

As Kasumi began unconsciously going through the motions of tossing the various ingredients together and making a light snack for herself, as well as the two in the furo as they would likely need to replenish their energy afterwards, she began to recall the scene she had just witnessed in the furo. She had to admit that Ranma was certainly maturing into a very handsome man, much like a certain doctor that occasionally visited her in her dreams. Idly, Kasumi's imagination placed her in the furo with Ranma and her sister, between them in fact, her fingers tracing the prominent curvature of his well-defined pectorals, which looked much sexier wet than dry, as she could almost feel Nabiki's full breasts pressing against her own back in a soft caress.

_'When was the last time I could be so open with others?'_ Kasumi suddenly asked herself, interrupting her fantasy of how things might have gone if she had accepted Ranma's offer. _'When was the last time someone pleasured me, with no other goal than to have that pleasure returned in kind?'_

Kasumi was hardly surprised at her thoughts, as they were recurring ones that she often experienced while she was out shopping or running errands. Seeing couples out and about, having fun and expressing their closeness to each other in subtle, and not so subtle ways, laughing, holding hands, or gently caressing some portion of their partner's body surreptitiously. In addition, while it was true that she had her 'toys' to aide her on those nights when her needs grew too strong to ignore...they were never as satisfying as the touch of another human being. Nabiki was SO lucky to be able to share herself with Ranma in the furo right now and, judging by how Ranma intimated that Nabiki wanted another girl to join them... _'Oh my, is Nabiki...'_ Kasumi's mind promptly brought forth an image of Ranma's female form, nude of course. _'If Nabiki has been intimate with Ranma for a while now, then surely she's...with Ranma-chan... Little Brother must be a 'highly' skilled lover by now, knowing how best to please a woman from 'experience'... And I all but ran away?! KASUMI NO BAKA!'_

----

Nabiki did NOT like her present situation, not in the least, and the anger Ranma was directing at her ruined any enjoyment she might have taken over ogling his nude form. Ranma had her at a severe disadvantage and there was little she could say to defend her past actions, or change his opinion of her, without revealing more than she was willing to at this point in time. Truthfully, she was guilty of all that he had accused her of. She HAD taken pride, and some pleasure, in her ability to manipulate those around her and make some profit in the process, BUT...there were several mitigating factors Ranma was unaware of, without which she would have never treated Ranma the way she had. Or at least, she would have treated him in a manner that would have been more conducive to their becoming friends instead of opponents...almost enemies, after the most recent events. Unfortunately, she could not risk telling him what was really going on, why she treated him the way she did...or could she?

"I'm waiting, Tendo-san," Ranma growled, his gaze boring into her own. "What possible 'excuse' can you think up to explain your actions? What 'justification' could you possibly have for endangering your sister's LIFE?!"

"I...I can't tell you all of it, Saotome. Not yet," Nabiki finally responded, grimacing. _'Great, now he KNOWS something's going on behind the scenes! Smooth move, Nabiki! Real smooth!'_ she thought deprecatingly.

"Then what CAN you tell me, Tendo-san?" Ranma asked angrily. "What possible reason could you have for making my life a living hell?"

"It wasn't my idea, Ranma," she stated, hoping that he would respond in kind. His addressing her in such an impersonal and cold manner unsettling to her, causing her to shiver despite the warmth of the furo. She idly wondered if this was the way others felt when they had seriously pissed her off enough. "Kasumi and I were TOLD to push you and Akane together...and to make ourselves...less appealing..."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Ranma said, recalling the day he had arrived at the Dojo. "The day I first got here, Kasumi didn't appear all that interested in me, but YOU definitely were! Then, when you all found out about my curse, you and Kasumi all but threw Akane and me together! Why would anyone TELL you to push us together and make yourselves 'less appealing', when it was obvious that neither of you wanted anything to do with me?"

"Opinions can change over time, Ranma, and you have the annoying habit of growing on people," Nabiki said, sighing wistfully. "I can't speak for Kasumi, but your curse scared me...at first. I've often wondered if your arrival to our home, in your cursed form, had been 'arranged' for exactly that purpose. To throw us all off balance, so that Akane could be pushed forward as the fiancée of choice. Once that happened...Kasumi and I were basically told to make sure it stayed that way."

"And who told you that?" Ranma asked, continuing to question the middle Tendo sister. The answer was obvious, of course, but Ranma felt compelled to ask it in any case. Nabiki, albeit grudgingly, appeared to be willing to provide information for once, without charging for it, so he intended to push it for all he could get.

"Daddy told us," Nabiki sighed, confirming Ranma's suspicion. "It even made an odd kind of sense, at the time, what with Akane's attitude towards boys and all." Come to think of it, Ranma's curse was almost TOO convenient, considering her family's concerns about Akane's 'preferences'. Concerns, which had been growing for quite some time prior to the Saotomes arrival at their home. Moreover, considering Ranma's upbringing by his misogynistic father... Could Ranma's becoming cursed to be a girl have been yet another part of the father's plans? It was certainly worth thinking about, Nabiki decided.

"Okay, so my curse makes me the 'perfect' fiancé for your sister," Ranma growled, not liking the implications one bit. "And your father told you and Kasumi to keep us together... What I don't understand, though, is if that's case...why the HELL do you keep interfering between Akane and me? Every time Akane and I SEEM to be getting closer, YOU do something that forces us apart! WHY!?"

It was a question that Nabiki had known would be asked, eventually, and HAD been asked in the past. Unfortunately, with all that had happened recently and with what little had already been revealed, she could not just flippantly brush the question aside or answer with some inane bullshit. Yet, she could not fully explain it to him without all her hard work being tossed out the window because she brought Ranma in on the truth, which she now began to realize that she did not really know or understand. "I...I can't tell you...not yet. But I can't let you marry Akane until you're both of legal adult age, at the earliest."

"And why the hell can't I marry anyone before I'm of age?"

"Not just 'anyone', but Akane specifically," Nabiki clarified, believing that she was regaining some control over their discussion. "You could marry any of your other fiancées, whenever you chose, and I wouldn't do anything to stop you. Not that our fathers wouldn't, of course, as they're dead-set on you marrying Akane and no other."

Ranma relaxed back against the side of the furo, thinking over what Nabiki had told him...as well as what she was not telling him. Obviously, their fathers had a specific reason for trying to get him and Akane married BEFORE they were legally adults and Nabiki knew, or at least strongly suspected, what that reason was. And since Nabiki appeared to be highly reluctant to tell him the exact reason or her suspicions...she was afraid that it would cause a reaction in him that would upset her own plans, or that he would do something that would cause their fathers to change their own plans in an unfavorable way. So what could their fathers hope to gain by forcing a marriage between himself and Akane before they were of age? What did his own father hope to gain? What were his schemes usually aimed at acquiring?

Ranma grunted and rolled his eyes indignantly. The answer was blatantly obvious. Still, why Akane? Why not Kasumi, or Nabiki? Why tell them to make themselves 'less appealing'?

"Why would our fathers be opposed to my marrying you or Kasumi?" he finally asked. "You're both Tendos, and 'technically' the agreement between our fathers could be fulfilled with either of you, as easily as with Akane."

"They MIGHT consider letting you marry Kasumi, if Akane, for whatever reason, became completely unsuitable or unavailable, as Daddy's always been able to get her to be the 'dutiful and obedient daughter'," Nabiki admitted. Then huffed, despairingly, before saying, "Me? Only as a last resort. And even then, I wouldn't favor my odds of surviving the first year of marriage before I had some kind of fatal 'accident'."

Ranma just stared at her. There was no mistaking that Nabiki believed their fathers capable of 'murder' to get what they were after. Ranma did not want to believe his own father capable of such a thing, and yet, had not he and Soun attempted exactly that with Happosai over a decade ago? Weren't they still prepared to do so if such an opportunity arose again?

"Okay...what about AFTER we're of age? You still going to keep Akane and me from getting married?" he asked.

Nabiki sighed heavily and sank lower into the water. Like it or not she was going to have to tell him a bit more or run the risk of his facing down their fathers for his answers, which wouldn't do at all. Still, if he really was as intelligent as she was beginning to suspect he might be...he might try and finally do something about a major weakness of his rather than ignore it as he had been doing. "If our fathers are still alive, and you're still affected by the Neko-ken...then the answer's probably 'yes'. In some ways, Akane's easier to manipulate than you are and while not as 'obedient' as Kasumi, she's far easier to trick into agreeing to things she doesn't fully understand." Nabiki had never felt the furo water cool so rapidly before and realized that Ranma had begun using the 'Soul of Ice' technique for some reason. In fact, she noticed that the other occupant of the furo had already switched genders and the water was getting even colder. "Do you mind, Ranma? I don't really want to become a popsicle today."

Realizing that she had automatically begun using the 'Soul of Ice' technique at the mention of the Neko-ken, Ranma-chan chuckled lightly, easing up on the technique. Quickly draining a portion of the now cold water from the furo, she turned on the hot water tap to refill the furo and return it to a more comfortable temperature, switching back to the male gender in the process. "Sorry," he apologized. Then, once the furo was refilled and comfortable once more, "Nabiki...what has the Neko-ken got to do with anything?"

"Technically, the Neko-ken's a form of insanity..." Nabiki began. "At any time, your father could have you legally declared 'mentally incompetent', and set himself up as being the only one allowed to make any legally binding agreements in your name, regardless of your age. Provided, of course, he keeps the truth of how your insanity came about from the authorities. And failing that, he could have someone else HE can control or manipulate be placed as your legal guardian; either your wife, which he intends to be Akane, or Daddy."

An expression of dawning realization began to appear on Ranma's face as he considered what Nabiki was telling him. Adding in other discrepancies of his upbringing and training by his father, his repeatedly stated goal of having Ranma take over the Tendo Dojo, and a very disturbing picture began to form in Ranma's mind. "Could that have been his intentions all along?" he softly whispered. Apparently, he had spoken a bit louder than he had intended as he noticed the middle Tendo sister nodding in apparent agreement.

"Most likely," Nabiki stated, agreeing with his unintentionally voiced question. "Seeing as the Neko-ken, while powerful and dangerous, is easily circumvented, a fact NOT noted in that so-called 'training manual' he supposedly got it from, AND that the only two results of the training, this time stated clearly in said manual, are permanent insanity or death... I can't see how anyone, even your father, could have mistaken it for an actual 'technique'," Nabiki explained. Then, frowning, she added, "Unless there's more to the training than what we've been told or what's been written in that manual of his..."

Ranma DID have some hazy and confusing memories of some kind of training his father had been giving him just prior to his Neko-ken training...something to do with meditation and finding his 'inner self', and mentally picturing it as a tiger or something similar...but then his father had seemed to dismiss that training as a 'waste of time', just as Ranma had begun to think he was making actual progress in learning the stuff, to begin training him in this new 'unbeatable' technique he'd discovered. Could that 'mental' training have actually been a part of preparing him in some way to learn the Neko-ken? Some method of preventing him from descending into 'permanent' insanity, but leaving him susceptible to bouts of 'temporary' insanity under the right conditions? Could there have been more 'mental' training that a 'trainee' in the Neko-ken was supposed to complete in order to bring the Neko-ken under conscious control? Nabiki was correct, in a way, in that unless the Neko-ken could be brought under the conscious control of the victim, or 'trainee', it was utterly worthless as a martial arts 'technique'. Yet, there had been no mention, whatsoever, in Genma's manual of such a thing even being possible. In fact, as it was written, such a thing as the Neko-ken should not have even appeared in ANY manual relating to 'martial arts' techniques, except as a footnote regarding 'failed' ideas. So logically, there HAD to be more to the training than they presently knew.

Shelving those thoughts for later consideration, Ranma forced his mind back to the main focus of his discussion with Nabiki...namely, the disrupted wedding and Nabiki's reasons for seeing that he and Akane did not become married. Nabiki had already hinted that their fathers intended to gain something from his marriage to Akane, something they might even be willing to 'kill' for...

"So...how much money are we talking about here?"

Nabiki's head snapped upright and her eyes locked onto Ranma's in surprise, and some fear he noted. "Who said anything about money, Ranma?"

Believing that he knew how his father thought, if only now beginning to suspect the actual lengths to which Genma would go to obtain something he truly desired, Ranma explained his reasoning. "If Pops would be willing to have me declared insane, then there would have to be a source of money aside from the Dojo, since no one's going to study under a young, inexperienced in teaching and INSANE sensei," he stated. He paused a moment for thought, then continued, "Even Pops would know that selling the Dojo wouldn't provide enough money for him to realize his dreams of 'retirement'; not with his habits, at least. So, the money he 'truly' intends to retire on has to come from another source, not directly related to the Dojo itself." Nabiki was staring at him, wide-eyed, and she lifted a hand in an apparent gesture to get him to stop, but he ignored it. "It would also have to be a rather large sum of money, if BOTH our fathers are planning to retire on it. And since you stated that I couldn't marry Akane before I was of legal age, that implies that this money would become known to us once we do, so it's probably some kinda inheritance or something. Correct?"

"Ranma... Please... Don't ask, or say, anything more about that," Nabiki pleaded as she leaned towards him. "I won't confirm or deny what you've just said, but...DON'T do or say anything to anyone else! And ESPECIALLY don't even hint about such things to either of our fathers! There's no telling what they might do, then." She cocked her head to one side in thought as her gaze bore into him, unintentionally making herself look incredibly cute in the process, despite her serious demeanor. "Or Akane," she continued. "She's even worse about rushing into things than you are."

"Now there's an understatement," Ranma huffed indignantly, rolling his eyes at the sheer number of times he'd had to rescue Akane or been hurt due to her apparent eagerness to rush into things before finding out what was actually going on.

"And just when did you become so damned smart?" Nabiki pressed, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Even with everything I've said, the Ranma I know shouldn't have been able to figure all that out."

"Now that...is a secret," he said with his eyes closed and smiling, mimicking a certain anime character from one of his favorite shows, expecting to hear Nabiki's jaw, at least, splashing into the water of the furo from her face-fault. When no such sound occurred, however, he opened his eyes to look at her and...cringed back away from the girl. Nabiki was looking back at him with a grin that would have done Dr. Seuss' Grinch proud. And then she uttered the words that would haunt him for years to come...

"I LOVE uncovering secrets, Ran-ma-kun," she purred seductively, emphasizing each syllable of his name. Inwardly, she was giggling hysterically at the expression on his face.

Ranma actually paled as Nabiki moved onto all fours, submerged up to her chin in the water, as if she was a stalking cat...and she was stalking HIM. He really should have known better than to use THAT phrase with the middle Tendo sister, as she happened to be very good at uncovering secrets, as he well knew. Then, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to her bare bottom sticking up out of the water as she sensuously rolled her hips.

"You need to 'loosen up', Ranma," Nabiki said with a grin, noting the resurrection of a certain portion of his anatomy which had subsided considerably during the course of their talking. _'And so do I,'_ she thought. _'He could really hurt a girl with that thing...or make her EXTREMELY happy. Still, it would probably be more trouble than it's worth. Teasing him is so much fun, though.'_

Ranma forced his gaze back to her face, fully aware that she was aware of the effect she was having on him, and swallowed nervously. The LAST thing he needed right now was for Nabiki to actually want to get...physical. "Wh-what would you recommend I do?" he asked nervously, silently praying that she would not...and that she would...make the obvious suggestion. He was not COMPLETELY without a libido, after all, and Nabiki was making herself extremely tempting at the moment.

"How good are you at...dancing?" Nabiki asked with a broad grin.

"Huh?"

----

The wedding attempt had been horrible, at least in the mind of Akane Tendo. "And it's all that baka's fault, too," she grumbled spitefully to herself, loud enough for her friends, Yuka and Sayuri, to easily hear while they were all, with one noticeable exception, enjoying some ice cream at their favorite ice cream parlor.

Yuka watched her long time friend as Akane brutally attacked her triple-chocolate sundae, as if it had somehow offended her, stabbing her spoon deep into the frozen treat before viciously shoveling it into her scowling countenance. It was likely that the only reason she wasn't experiencing any pain as she chewed and swallowed her treat, was because she would pause between bites to stab her spoon into her bowl a few times before placing the next into her mouth.

"I don't think that Ranma really meant for things to happen as they did, Akane," Yuka carefully offered, immediately drawing back as far as she could in the booth they all occupied as Akane's burning gaze snapped towards her. "Well... What I mean to say is... Wasn't it because of the others that the wedding attempt failed?"

"If that baka had just told those hussies to go away when they first showed up around here, they wouldn't have been here to interrupt my wedding in the first place!" Akane snapped. "They haven't any right to chase after him anyway! He was given to me before either of us was even born! He's mine and those hussies can't have him! Not that I want the perverted jerk, anyway. He's more trouble than he's worth!"

Akane returned her attention to her ice cream, while inwardly wincing at how her outburst made her look as if she viewed Ranma as a possession rather than as a person. She didn't, not really, but what else could she do? There were times when she really liked Ranma and wouldn't mind being married to him, despite his perverted curse. But then, there were also times, more often than she cared to contemplate, when she absolutely couldn't stand having him even in the same house with her. If asked, she would not have been able to explain why she had even agreed to try to marry the jerk in the first place when her father had approached her that morning with the idea. Consciously, she told herself that it had been so that Ranma could finally be rid of his curse, while never questioning why she hadn't insisted on her father just giving the Jusenkyo water to Ranma, or why she had resisted informing Ranma of its existence until he'd balked at going through with the wedding. Subconsciously, she would have delighted in showing up all the other girls pursuing Ranma for marriage by claiming him as HER husband.

Akane sighed. Truthfully, she wasn't ready for marriage. To anyone, let alone Ranma. There were so many things yet that she wanted to do and see, before settling down to raise a family and run her dojo. And Ranma would be ideal in that capacity; with his talent and abilities in the Art, she would have students coming from all over to study at her dojo. But if she married him too soon, she would have to give up so many of the things she wanted to do and see. Best to delay the marriage until she was ready to settle down and raise a family, but their fathers did not want to wait and, thanks to Genma, there were far too many other girls trying to steal Ranma away from her. And Ranma was still just a perverted boy, all too eager to jump at the chance to 'sow his oats' at the first opportunity, and probably would too if she didn't maintain a close watch on him and keep him in line. When she was ready, they would marry, and not before. Until then, however, she had to keep the perverted jerk from falling into the traps laid by the other girls after him.

Akane shook her head in frustration at the monumental task of keeping Ranma single, and 'inexperienced', until she was ready to marry him and settle down herself. Keeping him single was not all that difficult really, considering his own unwillingness to make any commitments, but keeping him inexperienced was proving to be a full time endeavor. Oh sure, some girls often commented on the advantages of having 'experienced' lovers for boyfriends and such, but Akane didn't want to have to deal with having to live up to those past experiences. No, when the time finally came for Ranma and her to 'share intimacies', he would have no unreasonable expectations from previous 'encounters' and be satisfied with whatever she allowed him to do with her and accept it. There would be no 'well, such-and-such would do this', or 'this girl would let me do that to her' that she would be expected to agree to and allow.

Nope, if she was going to have to do perverted things, once she and Ranma were married, for the sake of producing an heir, then SHE was going to be the one to say what will and will not be allowed. Even if she had to tie him down to the bed, gag him, and use a whip on him. No one would ever be allowed to think that she did such perverted things as to 'give head', or let her husband use her 'back door', and she'd beat him to within an inch of his life if he ever even hinted that she shared intimacies with his cursed form to any others...not that she would ever even consider doing so, in any case. She was no pervert.

Akane stared down at her empty bowl and lamented the disappearance of her treat. She never seemed to get enough of the sweet, creamy substance, and it always disappeared far faster than she would have preferred. She glanced over at the nearly empty bowls of her friends, before looking about the interior of the ice cream shop, contemplating placing an order for more ice cream, but she didn't really have the money to do so, since she might need it for other things. She thought momentarily of asking her friends to lend her some, but they'd previously mentioned a lack of great funds upon placing their own original orders, going for single scoops of their preferred ice cream instead of extravagant sundaes such as she'd ordered. _'Humph, Ranma never has a problem getting all the ice cream she can eat,'_ she mused, a scowl appearing on her face as she recalled how Ranma-chan would shamelessly flirt with the attendants to get extra portions for free. _'The pervert!'_ Of course, it didn't help her mood any to realize that this particular shop was the one to which she and Ranma had often come to in order to sate their desires for the creamy treats. _'I don't want to think of that jerk right now,'_ she thought, feeling the urge to leave.

Then Akane belatedly realized that her friends had stopped whispering to each other and had asked her a question. "What?"

"We asked if you'd like to go clubbing with us. Maybe take your mind off of the wedding and everything that happened?" Yuka asked again, hoping that Akane would at least get out and talk to other boys their age. Maybe this would be the time she could see that not every boy was a pervert like Kuno and those boys that had attacked her every morning at the beginning of the school year.

Akane shook her head and pushed her empty bowl away from her. "I don't feel like dealing with ANY boys today, Yuka." Akane knew that her friend was only trying to help ease her mind away from the failed wedding, and Ranma, but Yuka's ideas on the best ways of diverting her own thoughts from any problems she was having often involved dealing with boys in some manner. And going dancing was her preferred method, as it was a socially acceptable method of being able to 'feel up' boys as well as be 'felt up' without leaving one open to accusations of doing anything wrong or perverted. The fact that the one and only time Akane HAD gone 'clubbing' with her friends in the past had resulted in their expulsion from said club shortly after Akane had decked several of the boys dancing nearby for touching her, spoke well of the lengths to which her friends would go in helping her. Akane was still of the opinion that those boys had been trying to cop feels of her body, under the 'excuse' of the dance floor being crowded and despite the fact that they'd been dancing with other girls at the time. "How about we go ice skating, instead?" she asked. It was an activity Akane usually enjoyed and there was little risk of being groped by some pervert.

Yuka and Sayuri nodded at the idea and quickly finished off their own servings of ice cream, although Yuka mentally added yet another failed tally on her 'Get Akane to loosen up' chart. Yuka was beginning to think her friend would never grow up and learn that boys had more pleasurable uses than convenient punching bags. More than once, the thought had crossed Yuka's mind that Akane needed a good hard 'fucking' to get her priorities straight and to get rid of the near constant tension she always seemed to have. As far as her friends knew, Akane had never even masturbated before, quickly growing agitated and angry whenever they'd tried to bring the topic up, so they'd eventually stopped doing so. It was safer that way...for them.

It was a short trip to the skating rink, with the three passing the time with small talk about inane topics and deliberately avoiding mention of the wedding attempt or Ranma. Shortly after their arrival and the subsequent rental of three pairs of ice skates, they were all out on the ice, gliding about and trying to look as graceful as possible or simply doing their best to avoid collisions with other skaters.

"Akane," Yuka said after a time, finding herself unusually reluctant to completely drop the subject, "I still think you're blaming too much on Ranma." In truth, like many of the girls at Furinkan, Yuka had more than a passing crush on the handsome young martial artist. If Akane had not been a long time friend, or been so violent in marking him as 'her' property, Yuka would have jumped at the chance of gaining him as a boyfriend. "From what you told us, he didn't even know about the wedding until he got home, so he couldn't have invited anyone to something he didn't even know about."

Akane shot her friend a betrayed look for bringing the subject back up, but couldn't find a way to refute Yuka's statement. At least, not in any way that made sense. So okay, maybe Ranma was not 'directly' involved in ruining her wedding day, but... "I still say it's his fault," she finally responded with some heat in her voice. "Maybe not directly, but by refusing to get rid of the other girls, once and for all, he all but gives them an open invitation to interfere in our lives whenever it suits them."

"Can he 'get rid of the other girls', Akane?" Yuka pressed. "As I understand it, his father took Ukyo's dowry and Shampoo is already married to him under her laws. Kodachi probably wouldn't listen to him, even if he told her point blank that he wasn't interested in her, as crazy as she is."

"None of that matters," Akane stated with conviction. "He was given to me before either of us was even born. My family supports the engagement and Ranma's family supports it. They should just give up, go home, and leave us alone! It's a matter of family honor that Ranma and I marry, and those hussies have no right to continue interfering!"

Yuka knew when to give up on trying to change Akane's views about Ranma and the mess that their parents had created. Akane could not take her frustrations out on the ones responsible, namely the fathers, so she directed her frustrations and anger towards Ranma, and ignored or twisted the facts to justify her actions and thoughts where he was concerned. So the fact that the Saotome-Tendo agreement actually carried no more weight than any of the other 'engagements' that involved Ranma was not worth mentioning. It was Akane's 'family honor' that was involved; therefore, IT held prominence over all others, regardless of circumstance or consequence. The problem was...all of the other involved parties were of the same opinion and none was willing to even consider compromise.

"Say," Yuka began, trying to change the subject slightly, as she noticed something, "isn't this the same rink that you brought Ranma to learn how to skate?"

"Hey, you're right!" Sayuri piped in, and then giggled. "I'll never forget the way Mikado 'saved' Ranma-chan from a bad spill and took a kiss from her in payment. Boy, was she pissed! Of course, I'd never let a guy do that to me, no matter how handsome the boy is."

This brought Akane to a near standstill. She slowed to a stop and grumbled at the memories that assaulted her. Ranma allowing himself to be kissed by another guy. Then embarrassing her by trying to show off at the start of the skating match. And finally, claiming her as HIS fiancée and threatening to kill Mikado if he touched her, in front of a large audience... While it had been somewhat romantic, it had placed her in the spotlight far more than she would have liked. Akane looked up and about the skating rink as the memories kept coming. _'Isn't there any place that I can go and not be reminded of that jerk every five minutes?'_

"I'm not in the mood to skate anymore, guys," Akane sighed, pushing off and making her way out of the rink, her friends following.

"Akane?" Sayuri and Yuka both asked in concerned, quickly joining their friend in removing their skates and returning them to the rental counter before heading out onto the street.

"I just can't seem to get the jerk out of my head," Akane grumbled after a bit of aimless walking, her friends silently walking beside her. "It's almost as if I never had a life before he showed up. But I know that isn't true. And yet, everywhere I go, there he is!"

They continued walking, Sayuri and Yuka remaining silent, as Akane continued to grumble softly, allowing their friend to vent her frustrations freely. Eventually they came upon a park and Sayuri and Yuka guided their friend into it in the hopes that the tranquil beauty of nature would lighten her mood. Unfortunately, their hopes were in vain, as Akane came to an abrupt stop before a large series of hedges that had been shaped into a maze.

Akane stared at the living maze, memories of the time that Nabiki was temporarily Ranma's fiancée and the fiasco that had been assaulting her senses. That time had been an emotional roller-coaster for Akane. Anger at Ranma and Nabiki for picking on her. The sense of betrayal that Ranma had saved her sister from injury, while leaving her, his fiancée at the time, to fend for herself. Overhearing Nabiki's declaration of love for Ranma and coming to believe that it was true. Frustration as her sister continually tried to sell Ranma back to her. Surprise and...pleasure, when Nabiki had informed her that Ranma wanted to take her on a 'date'. Depression, after discovering that Ranma had actually asked Nabiki out on the date, not her, so that he could declare his love for Nabiki in some asinine ploy at revenge and had merely caught her by mistake. And even the 'date' they had had afterwards had been something of a letdown, consisting of a mere walk through the park and a quick, cheap meal from a ramen vendor before they had returned to the Dojo.

Sayuri and Yuka had been puzzled, at first, by Akane's abrupt stop before the maze, but then they recalled the story Akane had told them about a maze...and Ranma. Uh-oh.

"Damn it!" Akane softly growled, before lifting her gaze to the heavens and shaking a clenched fist. "DAMN YOU, RANMA! Can't I go anyplace and not have you bothering me!?"

"Akane," Sayuri began carefully, gently placing a hand on her friends shoulder and trying to ignore the gazes of the other park visitors that were now looking in their direction. "Why don't you come over to my place for the night? If Yuka's parents don't mind, we could have a sleepover, order in some American food or something, and play a few games. Get our minds off of recent events and just relax, like we used to."

"I...I think I'd like that," Akane said softly, considering the idea. She'd stayed over at Sayuri or Yuka's houses before and always had a fun time, plus it was an activity that Ranma had no association with, so maybe she could finally get him out of her thoughts.

----

Ranma stood in line with Nabiki as they awaited their turn to enter the dance club. It was still early in the evening so the wait to get in wasn't going to be that long, but Ranma still had his doubts about having allowed Nabiki to drag him to the dance club in the first place. It wasn't that he had any problems going out in public with the middle Tendo daughter, not really. When Nabiki wasn't trying to acquire any money he'd managed to obtain, or talk him into going along with her latest scheme, she was one of the few girls he knew that he could actually ENJOY spending any time with...at the Dojo or while in the company of others. Out in public? Just the two of them? About to enter a place normally associated with 'couples', or singles looking for partners? Ranma once again nervously scanned the surrounding crowd and roofs for any glimpse of his rivals, suitors, or anyone likely to get word back to them.

"Don't worry, Saotome," Nabiki said, taking a firm hold on his tense arm to keep him from bolting. "You're here to relax, have fun, and forget all of your problems for a time."

"But if someone sees us going into this place..." Ranma nervously began.

"It's a 'dance club', Saotome, not a 'love hotel'," Nabiki sighed, getting a bit frustrated with Ranma's continuing paranoia. Granted, it was justified, but...it was ruining her enjoyment of the evening. Time to rattle the jock's cage and derail his present line of thought. "You know..." she began while nestling his arm between her breasts and allowing his hand to brush against the bare skin of her thigh, "a real gentleman would have complimented his 'date' for the evening on her choice of attire, Ranma-kun. It is, after all, intended to please the eye of said gentleman."

In point of fact, Ranma had been trying to avoid thinking of the outfit Nabiki had chosen to wear for their evening of 'relaxation'. Naturally, with his rather limited wardrobe, Ranma himself had simply donned a clean set of his usual clothes, consisting of a sleeveless blue silk Chinese tang, baggy black ankle-tied pants, his black felt arm-bracers and his black silk slippers. Nabiki, on the other hand, had donned an outfit he'd never seen her wear before and would not have expected her to own. Despite her penchant for shorts and other eye-catching attire around the Tendo-ke, Ranma had always considered Nabiki's taste in clothing to be rather conservative and...businesslike, at least in comparison to some of the more outlandish styles of clothing he'd seen teenagers their age wearing while out and about the city.

In truth, Nabiki's chosen attire was both stylish and definitely eye-catching, without crossing the line into being considered garish or indecent, while making it absolutely clear that she was an attractive young woman, with an outstanding figure, and that she had no qualms about displaying those facts. Starting at the top and working down, Nabiki had donned a pair of small sparkling clip-on earrings consisting of some dark-blue gemstones surrounded by faux-diamonds, which only became apparent whenever her hair moved aside to expose her earlobes. About her slender neck, accentuating it, was a small, elastic, black silk, bowtie. Her top, looking like silk but obviously made of some elastic material and almost skintight across her bust, at first glance appeared to be a vest and blouse combination but was actually a single piece, the collar and long sleeves being a pure white while the faux-vest was a dark indigo blue. This top had an open and plunging collar, exposing a daring expanse of her ample cleavage, making it clear that she wasn't wearing a brassiere or anything else beneath it, was held closed by a single metallic-silver button, and was fairly short, leaving three to four inches of her smooth abdomen and narrow waist bare for all to see, including her bellybutton. About her slender hips and shapely derriere was a skintight elastic micro-skirt, seemingly made of the same material as her top, which rode low enough on her hips that it only JUST prevented exposing a bit of cleavage to her rear and was only long enough to prevent her from accidentally flashing everyone her panties when she moved or bent over. If she was wearing any, that is; Ranma wasn't entirely certain about that as he could detect no evidence of any beneath the tight material of the skirt, but he wasn't about to ask. And finally, after a long journey of smooth shapely thigh and slender leg, a pair of low-heeled, black, patent-leather pumps adorned her small feet.

In short, Nabiki was dressed to impress and galvanize the attention of any red-blooded heterosexual male, and any bisexual or lesbian female, that laid eyes on her. Ranma had no doubt, whatsoever, that if Nabiki ever chose to wear that outfit while he and Akane were in the same room with her...he'd once again be getting an aerial view of the Nerima ward courtesy of 'Akane Airways' without ever uttering a word or moving an inch.

"Uh...you look...um..." Ranma began nervously, but found himself unable to find suitable words to describe how he thought she looked without sounding more than little perverted...or just plain stupid.

"I'm not Akane," Nabiki sighed, backing off from him a bit to ease his nervousness. After what had occurred earlier between them in the furo, the fact that she could still fluster the poor boy was doing wonders for her self-esteem...and her sense of payback. "I won't hit you if you say you like what you see. After all, that IS why I chose to wear this outfit. So...do you like it?"

"Oh yeah..." Ranma finally responded, a bit dazed as Nabiki performed a little spin to ensure he got the full effect. Then he shook himself, and added, "Just, please, don't ever wear anything like that when Akane's around, okay? I'm not sure I'd survive the beating."

"Believe it or not, Saotome, this outfit's rather tame compared to what I normally wear while hitting the dance clubs," Nabiki told him impishly, enjoying the developing look of unease on his face. "I keep my more...exotic outfits over at a friend's house. I'd just purchased this one not long ago and hadn't had the opportunity to take it over to her place yet. You're the first to see me wear it, in fact."

"Huh. Why not just keep them in your own closet?" Ranma asked as they were finally admitted inside the club. He didn't care for the dim lighting surrounding the dance floor, which made it difficult to see very far and all but completely concealed anyone seated in the surrounding booths; and the strobbing, flashing, oscillating overhead lighting of the dance floor itself wasn't helping. Fortunately, the music being played by the DJ up in his isolated booth was being kept to tolerable levels; loud, but not deafening.

"Because my family are a bunch of hypocritical prudes, stuck in the past, who'd throw away most of the outfits I'd bought as being immoral and indecent if they ever found them," Nabiki responded tugging him out onto the dance floor.

"Shouldn't we get a booth or a table or something first?" Ranma asked, as he was dragged out among the other dancers.

"Later," Nabiki responded, raising her voice a bit for him to hear, before turning back to face him and starting to dance, undulating her body to the beat of the music once she'd found the rhythm. "Right now, I want to dance! Forget everything else, Saotome. Tonight, there's just you, me, the music and dancing!" Then Nabiki turned her back to him, backed up to him, and ground her shapely bottom forcibly against his crotch, causing him to tense up. "C'mon, Saotome! Loosen up! Show me you've got the moves to go with that gorgeous body of yours. Or are you too AFRAID of embarrassing yourself? Bet you can't even dance."

She was taunting him and he knew it, but Ranma also knew a challenge when he heard one and he never backed down from a challenge. Grabbing her undulating hips, he ground his crotch even more forcefully against her backside, quickly matching her own gyrations and taking careful note of how the other dancers were moving to the music on the dance floor.

"Better," Nabiki all but purred into his ear as she leaned back against him. "But you can still do better than that, I'm sure. C'mon, Ranma, let go! Let the music and the dance take over. Caress my body, show that you appreciate that I've chosen to dance with you and not some other guy. Make me forget that there's anyone else in the world but you, me, and the music. Nothing else exists while we're dancing, Ranma. Nothing. No cares, no worries, tomorrow will take care of itself. There's just now! You. Me. A man and a woman. Dancing. Nothing else matters, until the dancing ends."

It took some doing, but Ranma slowly allowed himself to relax from his near-constant state of combat readiness, his movements becoming smoother and more in tune to the rhythm and beat of the music...and Nabiki's undulating body. There was a decidedly primal and sexual aspect to their movements, and he was having some difficulty in controlling certain portions of his anatomy, especially with the vigor with which she ground her bottom back against him. But if she wasn't going to make an issue of it, he certainly wasn't. It did come as a bit of a shock when Nabiki grabbed his hands and placed on her bare abdomen, but it only lasted for a moment before he was once again moving smoothly with his dance partner, only now caressing the taut flesh beneath his hands as he did so.

Nabiki knew she had Ranma's full attention on her at the moment, and the feel of him pressing into her backside was definitely a thrill and a boost to her ego, but she could tell that he still hadn't fully let go and surrendered to the moment, as evidenced by his hands remaining, relatively, where she'd placed them on her bare skin. _'He still needs to loosen up a bit more, but he is improving,'_ she thought, as the music drifted into a slower beat. Twisting about in his arms, she pressed herself fully against him, pillowing her breasts against his chest and capturing his muscular thigh between her own, grinding her own sex against his thigh to gain a little stimulation and pleasure of her own. Reaching back, she forced his hands down onto her bottom, before lifting her arms back up to wrap around his neck. She smiled as this time he didn't even pause before beginning to knead and caress her bottom, occasionally raising a hand to stroke her back. _'Better, Saotome, much better,'_ she thought, savoring the closeness of him and the feel of his strong hands caressing her. _'But can you do the same with the other girls that have been eyeing you?'_ As if on cue the song ended, another immediately starting up, and one of Ranma's admirers quickly made her presence known.

"Hey there, handsome! Feel like dancing with someone new?" The voice was deliberately sultry and would capture the attention of most any male that was within earshot long enough to temporarily forget their dance partner. Nor was the speaker unappealing to the eye of any appreciative male, by any means. She couldn't have been much taller than Ranma's girl-form, somewhere in her early to mid-twenties, with a figure that nearly rivaled Shampoo's, and it was clothed in a tight-fitting white t-shirt, emblazoned with some obscure logo he wasn't familiar with, and even tighter purple hot-pants. She had a rounded, cherubic, face, large brown eyes and long, thick, wavy brown hair that fell to the small of her back. She was, to put it simply, lush and extremely cuddly in appearance. And despite all that, Ranma turned to look questioningly at Nabiki, as if seeking permission.

"Go ahead," Nabiki said with a smile, before leaning next to his ear and whispering, "Don't do anything more than we've already done, or that you don't see most of the others doing and you'll do fine. And don't be afraid to dance with any others that ask." Then, stepping out of his embrace, she added, "Just don't forget who you came with on this 'date', Saotome! I expect a few more dances with you, later on." That said, Nabiki danced her way into the crowd, looking for a new dance partner, with plenty of sway to her hips to keep the pigtailed boy's attention until she was out of sight in the crowd.

"So that's your date, huh?" the brown-haired woman asked, stepping around in front of him and drawing his attention as she began to move to the rhythm of the music. "That's a predator if I've ever seen one, and she probably intends to eat you alive. Maybe I should leave you to her 'tender mercies'?"

Ranma shook his head as he began to dance with the woman. "It's not really a 'date'," he said, leaning close to the woman's ear to talk. "We're just friends out to relax and have some fun together. Nothing more." He wisely chose not to elaborate on the fact that Nabiki was his fiancée's elder sister. In response, the woman gave her pigtailed dance partner a seductive leer and turned about to get her own grinding and gyrations started in earnest. Having already become accustomed to this with Nabiki, Ranma went with the flow and gave as good as he got, all but making-out with the woman right there on the dance floor. If he'd actually stopped and thought about it, Ranma likely would have bolted from the club.

Nabiki, meanwhile, had found a new dance partner herself. His lithely muscled body, bishonen good looks, and dancing had caught her eye, but she'd soon discovered his drawbacks. While she'd gotten the same attention that she'd gotten from Ranma, this guy kept attempting to send his roaming hands into forbidden territory, even after she'd indicated that he was going further than she cared for. Finally she turned away from him in disgust, intending to seek out someone more compatible, only to find herself yanked back against the pervert against her will.

"Look, I'm not interested in dancing with you any longer," Nabiki stated, her voice turning cold as she spoke.

"Listen, babe, you wanted to dance dirty, so I'm givin' you a dance to remember me by," the man's voice huskily wafted across her ear as his hands cupped her ass, squeezing her buttocks almost hard enough to bruise. Nabiki's knee shot up between the guy's legs in warning, tapping the sensitive flesh contained in his pants just hard enough to give warning, without actually causing any real pain.

"That 'other guy' is a close friend, who'll only too gladly put your egotistical ass in the hospital if you don't back off right now and let go of me," Nabiki hissed while shoving him away, before snorting in contempt and turning to find yet another new dance partner.

A couple of dances later, a much happier Tendo sister caught sight of her pigtailed escort still dancing with the brunette she'd left him with earlier, but also that another woman with short black hair, a more slender figure, and similar clothing, had joined the two, and that Ranma was presently the 'meat' in a 'grind sandwich'. _'And judging from the way those two are all but ripping his clothes off and rubbing themselves against him, they've discovered just how much 'meat' Ranma's packing,'_ Nabiki thought with a knowing smirk.

Deciding it was time for a break, Nabiki excused herself from her present dance partner as the music paused and moved to 'rescue' her 'date' from the vamps that looked about to drag him off into the gloomy surroundings for some dancing of an entirely different and much more personal sort. While Nabiki had never allowed things to go that far, herself, with the men she chose to dance with, she was all too aware of the number of 'accidental' children conceived in the dimly lit dance clubs she tended to frequent. This was not to say that she hadn't...experimented with a few of her female dance partners, though, which the dim lighting helped to conceal from prying eyes.

Still, while the 'date' wasn't actually a real date, Nabiki decided to treat her outing with Ranma as such. The recent change in behavior and the revelation of Ranma's heretofore hidden intelligence had intrigued the middle Tendo sister. Further thought had revealed just how little she actually knew about the young man who'd been a guest in her home for nearly a year, and she intended to correct that oversight. That's what 'dates' were for, anyway, learning about each other. Not that she intended to reveal anything too important to him, of course. A girl had to have her secrets, after all.

"Having fun, Saotome?" she asked, stepping up to the trio and ignoring the glares the two women directed at her for interrupting their seduction attempts.

"More than I thought I would, actually," Ranma responded with a smile, before wincing when he noticed Nabiki glancing at how he still had his arms about the waists of his dance partners. A fact he quickly remedied by moving said arms behind him, much to the two women's displeasure.

"Don't worry, ladies," Nabiki said with a broad grin, reaching out and pulling Ranma from between them and to herself. "You'll have other chances tonight. Right now, though, my 'date' and I need to take a break and talk about a few things. So if you'll excuse us?" Fortunately, the two dissatisfied women didn't feel it worth arguing over and simply turned to find new partners as the next song started up, while Nabiki led Ranma off the dance floor.

"I wasn't doin' nothin', Nabiki," Ranma stated defensively, although he wasn't entirely certain of that.

"Relax, Saotome," Nabiki snorted. "I'm not mad at you. I just felt like taking a break and thought we could talk a bit before we go back to dancing. Besides, I thought I'd 'rescue' you, before those two dragged you off somewhere to try and steal your virginity."

"As if," Ranma scoffed. "I wasn't about to leave you here alone. And what's with this 'date' stuff? We are NOT on a date!"

"In a way, we are," Nabiki said humorously. "Close enough, anyway. In any case, I never said anything about them dragging you OUT of the club. Check out the action in that booth to your right."

Ranma glanced into the all but darkened booth they were passing. There was just enough light to make out a couple within, the woman sitting astride the man's lap, facing him, and rhythmically bouncing up and down while holding herself close to him and kissing him with obvious passion. It didn't take any sort of genius to deduce exactly what they were doing.

"While they're not nearly as private as a love hotel, dance clubs are cheaper and they'll do in a pinch if you're really in the mood," Nabiki explained with a chuckle, as she directed a red-faced Ranma into a vacant booth. And then, she deliberately sat down beside him and pressed herself up close against him, struggling to keep the grin off her face. "Interested in a little 'action', Ranma-kun?" she then asked, as seductively as she could. In the blink of an eye, Ranma was on the other side of the booth and Nabiki broke out in a fit of giggles.

"That ain't funny, Nabiki!" Ranma spat, eyeing her nervously.

"Yes it was," Nabiki giggled in response, before sobering, a little. "So, what happened to that big, strong, and most of all, bold, young man that held my naked body so firmly against his own earlier today, hmm? Lose your nerve? Not 'stimulated' enough? I could help you out if you want?" she asked, beginning to get up from her seat.

"No!" Ranma barked, immediately lowering his voice again. "No. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop teasing me, okay?"

"Aw, you're no fun," Nabiki groused, flopping back down in her seat with a pout.

"Nabiki..." Ranma whined.

"Okay, okay," Nabiki chuckled, losing her pout. "You're just too easy, though. I wasn't going to do anything, anyway."

"Then don't make offers you're not ready to back up," Ranma growled, surprising her. "Look, I have enough trouble with attractive girls throwing themselves at me on a nearly daily basis. Sure, I have a lot of control over my body, thanks to my training, but even that has its limits and...I've always found you...attractive. Then there's the fact that you're probably one of the few girls I know that I COULD do...that with and not find myself in front of a priest as soon as we finished." Ranma paused, gathering himself. "What happened in the furo...was a spur of the moment thing, okay? I figured I'd shock you and get a little revenge for the all the times you've embarrassed me. When you fell into my lap...and Kasumi ran in...it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. I was on a roll and I went with it."

Nabiki considered what he'd just said for a moment, before asking with a completely serious expression, "Then you weren't serious about the 'threesome', with me and Kasumi? Oneechan's going to be sooo disappointed."

Ranma just leveled a glare at her.

"Alright, alright," she chuckled, "I'll stop. For now."

Ranma just continued to glare at her.

"Lighten up, will you," Nabiki finally said. "We're here to relax and have fun, not glare at each other."

"Fine," Ranma finally sighed in response, relaxing back into the booth. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, since we're on a date," Nabiki began, then quickly continued when Ranma started to open his mouth, "even if it's an 'unofficial' one, I thought we could do what normal couples do on dates. Get to know each other better. After the 'furo incident', I realized that I don't really know you as well as I thought I did, and I'd like to correct that."

"So you can manipulate and blackmail me better?" he asked, more than a little resentment in his voice.

"As I told you in the furo, I had my reasons, Ranma," Nabiki said defensively. "Now that you know of them, and if you don't try to marry my sister any time soon...I'll stop most of my interference and manipulation of your affairs, deal?"

"Most?"

"I won't go out of my way to make your life any harder than it already is," she said. "But if you get yourself into yet another embarrassing situation, don't expect me not to take advantage of it for a bit of fun and profit."

Ranma sat and thought about her response for a moment, but eventually released a sigh and nodded. "I guess that's the best I could hope for, and it seems fair enough. But if you want to grill me about my life, you'd better be prepared to respond in kind. After all, 'dates' are so that BOTH people can learn about the other."

"I have no problem with that, but don't expect me to answer every question you have."

"Same here," he responded.

"Now that we have that settled..." Nabiki began, thinking of her first question. "Just how much do you really know about...girls and sex? How much is an act? How far have you actually gone with a girl?"

"How 'far' I've gone is none of your business," he responded. "Unless you're willing to answer that question yourself, except in regards to guys. As for how much I know...Pops wasn't celibate on the training trip and I've seen more than my share of the inside of pleasure houses across most of Asia. So, I've seen and heard a lot."

"Then why the act?"

"Can you think of a better way to keep the girls from 'desperate' measures, than having them believe that I'll bolt if they press too hard?" he responded. "Or a better way to prove Akane's accusations of being a 'pervert' wrong?"

"Good point," Nabiki conceded, seeing the wisdom of his plan. "Your turn."

"Tit for tat, huh? Not going to press on how 'far' I've gone with a girl?"

"Not at this time, Saotome," she responded. "I'm not yet willing to reveal all of my deepest and darkest secrets to you."

"Not that I'd expect all that much, considering your reaction to...me in the furo," he said with a knowing grin.

"Don't push it, Saotome," she all but growled with narrowed eyes. "You surprised me, that's all! But I'm not going to get into a game of sexual one-upmanship with you tonight."

"So, no more questions in regards to our sex lives?" he asked.

"Agreed."

"Well then, let's see..." Ranma mused, trying to think of a good question. "Okay. What kind of hobbies do you have? What, in particular, are your interests...outside of extortion and blackmail, that is?"

"Oooh, using big words now, are we, Saotome?" Nabiki cooed, smirking at the discomfort that appeared on Ranma's face. "I'll answer that one for free, just because you're cute that way." She playfully placed her forefinger to her chin, in a show of thought, but already having decided which of her hobbies she would reveal to him. "Photography is one interest I enjoy, but I doubt if I'll ever make it a profession."

"With or without being a voyeur?" he asked, jokingly. He'd already known about that particular hobby of hers, considering the number of photos of his girl-form circulating throughout the school.

"Without," she answered blandly, knowing precisely what he was thinking. "Taking candid shots of your girl form, in various modes of dress or undress, is hardly a challenge, even for a complete novice photographer, with as easy you make it. No, the real challenge is action shots, such as the ones I take of your fights. Capturing in time that one moment, in perfect clarity, when you and your opponent are exchanging blows. Or when you're doing a kata and you leap into the air, suspended there in mid-motion, defying gravity, a picture of grace and tightly controlled power. To capture that moment, that one moment in time, in perfect clarity, THAT'S a challenge!"

Ranma's eyebrows rose at the amount of enthusiasm Nabiki was showing for her 'hobby'. Try as he might, though, he couldn't recall ever seeing such photographs. Before he could question her about it, however...

"So what about the 'Wild Horse of Nerima'?" Nabiki asked. "What are your interests, hmm? And don't say martial arts. That's not a hobby for you, that's an obsession!"

"Well, I can't really say that I have any hobbies," Ranma began, "Pops wouldn't allow me to do anything that wasn't related in some fashion to the Art...that he could catch me doing, anyway. As for interests...I like a good meal...sleeping in when I can..." His thoughts drifted back to his training trip, and the few pleasures he'd been able to enjoy from time to time. "...seeing new places...enjoying the wonders of nature...peace and quiet...a warm fire on a cold night...a hot bath...'dancing' now...reading a good book..." He grinned as he knew that last one would surprise her. He had other interests, of course, more common and understandable ones, but also ones that could be used against him and he wasn't ready to trust Nabiki that far as of yet. As it was, he felt that he'd given her enough to whet her appetite.

That Ranma 'Books-Are-For-Sissies' Saotome enjoyed reading DID come as a surprise to Nabiki, but it also went a long way towards explaining his heretofore hidden intellect. And considering his father's often violent attitude towards Ranma pursuing anything even remotely of an intellectual nature, rather than physical, it also explained how he'd gotten so good at concealing said intellect. And while his 'interests' sounded simple and common enough, anyone with even a passing knowledge of Genma Saotome and his ideas of how to raise a child would quickly realize how rare those interests of Ranma's were likely to have been in his life.

"So, it's the simple pleasures in life that grab your attention, hmm?" Nabiki commented, not really asking a question. Even now, living in her home, Ranma was rarely able to enjoy such simple pleasures undisturbed or unhindered, what with his father and Akane rarely giving him a moment's peace, not to mention all of his suitors and rivals. Or herself. There wasn't much she could do about the rest, but if he'd discovered a fondness for dancing...THAT she could do something about. And if it made him more willing to remain close to home, so much the better.

Ranma shrugged. "I guess. To you they may just be simple pleasures, and I guess they are really, but they're a rarity in my life," he sighed. _'Just like this simple conversation is a rarity. No yelling. No insults. Just two people talking, sharing themselves for a time, and not trying to discover hidden meanings behind every comment. If Akane had been willing to talk to me like this, we'd probably be married by now.'_ He sighed, before straightening in his seat. "So, any other interests, 'sides taking pictures?"

"Lots of them," she replied, perking up and sitting forward in her seat, getting back into the conversation. "Collecting manga. Dancing, of course. Motorcycles. I want to learn how to fly my own plane one day. Horseback riding..."

"Western or Eastern?" Ranma suddenly asked, having a slight interest in that topic himself.

"Western," she replied, giving him a quizzical look. "You ride?"

"I've road a trail or three," he said with a grin.

The conversation then descended into a comparison of their riding experiences; Nabiki's mainly consisted of a few packaged trail rides, while Ranma's, naturally enough, stemmed from more mundane roots having worked at a few 'dude' ranches, here and there, while on his training trip with his father. Then came a comparison of horses versus motorcycles, and later on flying, and Ranma had to admit that he was more interested in those two subjects now than he had been previously.

"So, ready for a bit more dancing?" Nabiki asked as their conversation began to wind down a bit.

"Sure," he responded, scooting to the edge of the booth, but before he could stand someone stepped up to their booth.

It was a woman, a gaijin, about their height, Caucasian, and lithely muscular, with straight white hair that fell to her mid-back and blue eyes behind unusually large round glasses. And her low-riding, hip-hugging jeans and midriff-baring cut-off t-shirt, did nothing to conceal her eye-catching figure. While it was obvious that the woman was considerably older than either of them, neither teen could begin to guess the woman's age, as she seemed to possess an innate beauty unaffected by the ravages of time, save for her white hair which could have been bleached for all they knew, but somehow they felt it was her natural color now.

"Excuse me," the woman spoke, in surprisingly flawless Japanese without a trace of accent, talking to both teens but clearly indicating an interest in Ranma. "I hope I'm not intruding, or being too forward, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a dance or two with a lonely old woman?"

_''Old woman'?'_ Ranma thought with a raised eyebrow, once more taking in her very attractive figure, before wincing as Nabiki kicked him in the shin and nodded her head towards the woman.

"'Course not, Mrs..." Ranma began.

"It's 'Miss', actually, but you can call me Gina," she said, taking his hand as Ranma rose to his feet. "I don't get out that often, but when I do...there's nothing like sharing a dance floor with a young stud, such as yourself, to make me feel young again." She gave Nabiki a wink, as she turned Ranma towards the dance floor, and said, "Don't worry, dearie, I won't wear your boyfriend out too much before returning him to you. Although, if he moves as well as he looks...I can't guarantee that I won't try and take him for a test drive."

"I don't think his fiancées would like that," Nabiki said with a smirk, "but if you can get the big lug to loosen up...go for it!" Nabiki stepped up beside Ranma and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Just relax and enjoy yourself, Saotome. Show her a good time." With that said, Nabiki swatted his behind and moved out onto the dance floor in search of a new dance partner.

"'Fiancées'? As in, more than one?" Gina asked curiously, leading Ranma onto the dance floor.

"Looong story," Ranma sighed. "And something I'm trying not to think about tonight. My name's Ranma, by the way."

"Well, Ranma, I think I can help you with that," Gina said with a grin as the music started back up. And she did, too. In only a matter of moments, Ranma's entire world had shrunk down to center on the provocative woman dancing with him. And despite his best efforts, Ranma soon found himself embarrassingly erect, a fact which Gina was obviously aware of, lewdly grinding herself back against him almost continually now and encouraging his hands to roam further.

"My, you are a big one, aren't you?" Gina laughed during a lull in the music, grinning seductively as she wiggled against him, making him blush in embarrassment. "Don't be embarrassed, dear. I'm quite flattered that I can still get a 'rise' out of a young man at my age."

"You don't seem that old," Ranma said as she turned about to face him, one of his hands unconsciously dropping to fondle her bottom while the other began stroking her back.

"Older than you can imagine, handsome," Gina sighed softly, too low for him to hear. She then leaned back and grinned at him. "In any case, you're only as old as you feel, right? And you're making me feel like a teenager again. So, wannna come back to my place and keep the neighbors awake for the rest of the night? Maybe a few nights, if you've the stamina and endurance to match the equipment you're packing?"

"As...uh...tempting as that sounds," Ranma nervously said, "I don't think that would be a good idea. My life's complicated enough, as it is."

"I was just kidding," Gina said, resting her forehead against his and looking into his eyes. Then, when he appeared to relax, she added, "Mostly." She giggled as his slightly fearful expression made a reappearance. "Your girlfriend was right, you DO need to loosen up!"

"Nabiki's not my girlfriend, she's just...a friend," Ranma corrected.

"Maybe that's all she is now, but I could tell that she's interested in becoming more," Gina responded, beginning to sway to the music as a new song began, a fairly slow one, one intended for intimate couples. A fact that escaped Ranma's notice as he adjusted to the different mode of dance, stumbling only a little. "First time dancing?" Gina asked.

"More or less," he responded, enjoying the relaxing break from their more energetic dancing. "I learned some Capoeira, a Brazilian form of martial art based on dance, during a training journey growing up. This is my first time at a dance club, though. As well as dancing for the simple enjoyment of it...or with a woman. I think I like it."

"I know I do," Gina said with a smile. "And you catch on quick to new dance steps, that's a definite plus. I can already see that you're going to become very popular with the ladies."

"Increased popularity with 'the ladies', is something I definitely don't need," Ranma sighed. "I've already got more than I can handle."

"I wasn't talking romantically, Ranma," Gina clarified. "But I can guess a handsome stud like you has all the girls chasing after you, and you seem to have a natural boyish charm and animal magnetism that's also highly attractive to a lot of women. From your expression, though, I'm guessing that you don't consider that to be a good thing. If you'd like to talk about it, I might be able to offer some advice, seeing as I'm a vastly older and more experienced woman who's had her fair share of relationships, both good and bad. Not to mention I'm a relative stranger with nothing to gain or lose, so I can probably give a fairly unbiased opinion of the problems you're having."

Ranma thought about it for a few moments. The whole purpose of coming to a dance club was to forget about his problems, at least for a short time, and it seemed to be working. He was feeling far more relaxed and in good humor than he had in quite some time. And yet, Gina was presenting him with an opportunity to get an unbiased outsider's view of his problems, which is something that not even Doc Tofu had been able to offer considering his interest in Kasumi, whom Ranma was 'technically' engaged too. The fact that Gina appeared to be a very mature and sensible individual made her offer even more inviting.

"If you're serious," Ranma began, to which Gina nodded, "then let's get something to drink and talk. Good, sound advice has been sorely lacking in my life." Once they'd acquired their drinks, water in Ranma's case, they found a vacant booth and he proceeded to tell Gina a highly-edited and abbreviated version of his life story, right up to the recent failed wedding.

"Jinkies," Gina sighed when Ranma finally wound down, "when you said you had problems, you weren't kidding. Give me a minute to think about this. I could tell that you weren't telling me everything, by the way, so take any advice I offer with a grain of salt. In the meantime, would you be a dear and get me a refill?"

Ranma got up to do as she'd asked, running into Nabiki at the bar.

"So, how's it going, Saotome?" Nabiki asked, grinning. "I noticed you've been spending quite some time talking with Gina. Impressing her with your past exploits, or trying to talk her into going to a love hotel with you?"

"Hopefully, getting some unbiased advice," he responded with a sigh, to which Nabiki frowned.

"The whole idea of coming here was to forget our problems," she said.

"She offered to listen and give me some advice," he said. "Unbiased advice, which is something I can't get anywhere else. Maybe someone on the outside of my life can see something I've missed. I couldn't pass up the offer."

The bartender came to take their orders, but when Ranma tried to get another glass of water, Nabiki changed his order.

"He'll have a Texas Iced Tea, instead," she instructed the bartender, before turning to face Ranma. "I think you're going to need it, Saotome. And one alcoholic drink isn't going to kill you, so long as you limit it to just that one."

Ranma was dubious, not having very good memories in regards to anything involving alcohol, but he didn't change the order. He was surprised upon taking a sip of the drink, once the bartender placed it before him.

"Tastes like sweetened iced tea," he said, giving Nabiki a curious look. "There's alcohol in this?"

"Yep," Nabiki replied, holding up her own glass of said beverage. "It's in there, even if you can't detect it. One'll give you a nice warm feeling. Two'll make you a little numb. And three'll send you to your knees if you're not careful. Treat it with respect."

"I'll do that," he said, retrieving his and Gina's drinks before turning to head back to their booth.

"I expect some more dancing out of you, Saotome," Nabiki called after him, to which he nodded. He was looking forward to some more dancing, actually.

"So," he said resuming his seat in the booth across from Gina, after placing her refreshed drink before her, "what sage advice can you offer this poor and humble traveler?"

"I doubt that you're going to like everything I have to say," Gina sighed, taking a hefty swallow of her own drink. "Sure you want to hear it?"

Ranma looked down at the drink Nabiki had said he'd need, and felt that just maybe she'd been right. Taking his own hefty swallow of the alcoholic beverage, he said, "Let 'er rip! I doubt you could say anything that I haven't already considered, no matter how unpleasant."

"Okay," Gina sighed again, taking another sip of her drink. "First and foremost, forget your family honor. It's history, toast, mangled beyond belief, FUBAR. The only honor you have left, and can rely on, is your own. And from what you've told me, BOTH of your parents are doing everything in their power to utterly destroy what little honor you have left in order to get the things THEY want and treat you no better, and with no more concern, than as if you were their personal property rather than their son."

Ranma nodded, after a pause and another drink, but Gina wasn't telling him anything he hadn't already thought of.

"My advice in regards to your parents is...find a way to distance yourself from them," she said. "Try to get adopted or marry into another clan. If worse comes to worst, try to get yourself emancipated, so they can't legally make you do anything. Your best shot, however, would be to somehow make yourself head of your family's clan, at least then you'd actually be in a position to be able to do something about the mess they've made of your life."

Again, Ranma nodded without surprise. Although, the emancipation idea was new, so it might be worth looking into.

"And the girls?" he asked.

"Technically," Gina began, "the only one with a semi-valid claim, from what you've told me...is that Chinese Amazon, Shampoo. All the others your father arranged were invalidated the instant he agreed to engage you to a second girl. That one was made before another, or this or that dowry was taken, makes no difference. Your father could just as easily be supporting that Kuonji girl's engagement, as the one he has with the Tendos, but he dishonored both agreements by engaging you to others, so neither has a leg to stand on."

"I never asked Shampoo to marry me," Ranma pointed out. "And I was never told about their antiquated laws that first time. It was entrapment, plain and simple."

"True," Gina nodded, then continued, "the FIRST time you defeated her. Unfortunately, the SECOND time you defeated her, during that Contrary Jewel incident, you not only had at least some knowledge of their marriage laws, but you deliberately challenged her for her hand in marriage. So, you DID ask her to marry you!

My advice in that regard is...learn as much about Amazon law and culture as you can. See if they allow divorce, and under what conditions, if you don't want to stay with her. Also, find out what consequences the two of you would face if you did try and divorce her, both legally and socially. And finally, stay out of China, and her bed, unless you decide to honor your marriage to her."

Ranma winced at being reminded of that fiasco, and he almost regretted having told Gina about it. Several of his acquaintances, as well as his parents and Mr. Tendo, had firmly believed that the incident had proven that Akane loved him, after they'd been told of the event. Ranma, however, was extremely doubtful about their conclusions. When worn upside-down, the Contrary Jewel turned feelings of love into hate, and presumably hate into love, which had gone a long way in convincing him that Shampoo wasn't just pursuing him due to her crazy laws and may actually love him. When worn right-side-up, however, the Contrary Jewel was supposed 'enhance' feelings of love, enough so for the affected person to openly declare their love for another. It was the 'enhancement' part that Ranma had problems with. Just how much DID it enhance? Was it just a little, which wouldn't make any sense? Or a lot? Enough, perhaps, that a general fondness and attraction could be enhanced sufficiently to be 'mistaken' for love? Ranma had once voiced the idea of borrowing the Contrary Jewel and placing it on Akane, upside-down, just to see what would happen, but their fathers and Akane had been adamantly opposed to the idea, and Cologne had later informed him that she'd sent it back to China in any case.

"Any final words of wisdom?" Ranma asked, noting Nabiki walking towards their booth, presumably to drag him back onto the dance floor.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Gina responded, also noting Nabiki's approach. "And making no decision, IS a decision, with its own pros and cons."

"Alright, you two," Nabiki announced stepping up to their booth, "enough talking. I dragged Ranma out here to have fun, to relax, and to forget his problems for a while. And right now, he's looking like he's having anything BUT fun, or relaxing. So unless you two are planning to start making out in the next few minutes, I want Ranma to come dance with me."

"My idea of keeping the neighbors awake still sounds good, if you're interested?" Gina offered when Ranma looked towards her.

"I'll have to pass," Ranma sighed, climbing out of the booth. "But I wouldn't pass on further opportunities to dance, later?"

"Why wait?" Gina responded. "If your girlfriend doesn't mind sharing, or dancing with another woman, I don't see any reason why we can't all dance together?"

"Hmm..." Nabiki mused, seeming to think it over. "You, me, and Ranma in the middle. Sounds delicious. But do you really think he can stand the pressure? He's already been teased and stimulated a lot, tonight. He might 'explode', if we tempt him too much."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Gina said with a large, mischievous grin, that was rapidly copied by Nabiki, as the two women dragged Ranma onto the dance floor.

They didn't get him to 'explode'...but it was close, VERY close.

----

It was an exhausted, but happy, couple that exited the train station in Nerima in the wee hours of the morning and began walking towards the Tendo-ke. Nabiki was leaning heavily against Ranma's side, her head resting on his shoulder, the arm he had about her slender waist about the only thing keeping her upright and moving at the moment. She'd had a few more drinks than she'd intended during the course of the night, not enough really to qualify as being even mildly intoxicated, but between the alcohol and her physical exhaustion, if Ranma hadn't been holding her up, she'd have collapsed and gone to sleep right there in the street. Nabiki knew, however, that Ranma would never take advantage of her present condition, darn it all, unlike most of the men she'd known, and she knew that he would ensure that she made it home to her own bed safe and sound.

Overall, she considered the night to have been a roaring success. She'd had fun, forgotten her cares and worries for a few hours, got to tease Ranma to no end sexually, and even got to dance with and feel up a HOT older woman. And the both of them had nearly driven Ranma, poor boy, to make a mess in his pants with the way they rubbed themselves against him on the dance floor, trapping him between them and allowing him no chance to escape. Not that her panties had remained all that dry.

Yes, she would definitely be taking Ranma out again, perhaps with Ryonami as a second dance partner. Ranma had certainly been captivated watching her and Gina dance together. And while it hadn't actually, officially, really, been a 'date' date, Nabiki couldn't remember ever having so much fun and pleasure whenever she'd gone out with some other boy. Ranma had turned out to be an excellent and 'stimulating' dance partner, once he'd finally cut loose. And as a reward for ensuring that she'd had a good time and made it home safely, she decided to reward her gallant escort for a most enjoyable evening, as they stopped before the gates of her home.

"I had a really good time tonight, Ranma," she whispered into his ear, turning about to face him and press him up against the wall beside the gate. "And I think you deserve a reward for that. And for putting up with all the teasing you endured tonight."

"Don't worry 'bout it, Nabiki, I--MMPH!" Ranma's eyes shot wide open as he suddenly found himself engaged in a full lip-lock with a seemingly amorous Nabiki, she was even exploring the inside of his mouth with her tongue. How long the kiss actually lasted would remain unknown to the two, but long before it ended Ranma was responding in kind and his hands hand once again returned to fondling her bottom.

"Thank you again, for a very enjoyable evening," Nabiki said softly, breaking off the kiss and backing away from him a bit. "We'll have to do it again, soon."

"I'd like that," he responded, still a bit flushed from the surprise kiss.

"Goodnight, Ranma," Nabiki called as she stumbled her way through the gates and into the house. "Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight," Ranma responded, distractedly. He remained standing outside the Tendo-ke for a time, thinking about everything that had occurred that night. He had really enjoyed the dance club, and dancing with Nabiki. And Gina. He was actually more than a little regretful that he couldn't accept her offer of companionship for the night...or several nights. Some...instinct...was telling him that she could teach him a LOT, and not just about sex.

Ranma sighed. Gina had also confirmed many of his own thoughts about the problems in his life, and forced him to accept that he WAS married to Shampoo, or at least engaged, by his own actions. He'd known it, of course, but had just refused to acknowledge that he'd been so stupid as to KNOWINGLY challenge Shampoo a second time, as a male, even after having learned of the laws she followed.

"You can be a real baka at times, Saotome," he muttered to himself, shaking his head, before looking up at the stars. His thoughts drifted back to the kiss he'd just shared with the middle Tendo sister and a contented little smile appeared on his face. "Maybe Nabiki isn't as 'cold' and unfeeling as she wants people to believe," he sighed, recalling the passion and heat hidden within her kiss.

It was at that point that Ranma recalled Gina's response to his referring to Nabiki as a 'friend', that she may be one now but she was interested in becoming more than just friends. He also recalled that Gina had referred to Nabiki as his 'girlfriend' at all times, and that Nabiki had NEVER corrected her or so much as batted an eyelash at being referred to as such.

Releasing a weary sigh, Ranma turned to head inside the Tendo-ke to try and get as much sleep as he could before morning. But considering the revelations he'd had this evening, he knew that sleep was going to be a while in coming.


	3. Confrontations

**WARNING:** While there will be no actual 'Lemon' content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

**Disclaimer:** The rights to 'Ranma 1/2' are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. The rights to 'Gold Digger' are owned by its creator, Fred Perry. The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators. This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.

**Notes:** While drawing primarily from the original 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series, some elements and characters from the 'Ranma 1/2' Anime series may also be utilized. This is BOTH a 'Continuation' and an 'Alternate Universe' fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of 'Ranma 1/2' and 'Gold Digger', meaning: the characters WILL be 'Out-of-Character' to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree. This fan-fiction is also a 'Crossover', combining elements from the two aforementioned sources. For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry's 'Gold Digger' series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.

Furthermore, it is 'presumed' that the events of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series take place over a span of less than one year, as there is little, if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon. Therefore, Ranma and Akane are still freshman at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kunou are juniors.

**Timeframe:** Immediately following the failed wedding attempt at the end of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series; there are several months remaining until the end of the current school year at Furinkan High... ('Gold Digger' timeframe will become apparent when introduced into the story.)

**WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL DRAFT!! This will be changed and a revised one in it's place once my co-writer and myself can discuss it.**

**BATTLE MAGE**

**By**

**Ryan Slicer**

original story concept, writing and guidance

**&**

**Tai Khan**

general story expander, editor and sounding board)

**Book One: Control**

**Part Two: Confrontations**

Dawn broke though the clouds the next morning and awoke some of the family members in the Tendo-ke. While Kasumi was up half an hour earlier, her younger sister stretched out in her bed as she awoke. Nabiki yawned and greeted the day with her hair out of place and a dismal attitude about waking up early. She never was a morning person, and considering how late she was up the night before she started having a bit more trouble finding a good reason to get up, aside from her usual reason to start the bets. Her thoughts took her to the memories of last night and she allowed herself to smile for a brief moment. Last night was fun for her and she enjoyed her time with the Saotome heir and a few other dancers.

Still, she was never a morning person and she quietly grabbed her bathing supplies and exited her room. Knowing that there would be some bets that needed to take place for the aftermath of the wedding and she needed to cash in on those bets. She headed for the furo to get cleaned up for the day, when Ranma exited his room and nearly bumped into her.

"Sorry about that, Biki." Ranma gave her a quiet smile at the scowl that she shot his way before she smiled back at him, her hip bumping his as they walked down the stairs. The pig-tailed man responded in kind, noting that she wasn't as used to getting up in the morning with lack of sleep. There was a content smile on both of their faces before the reached the bottom of the steps, where a bright-eyed Kasumi met them as they entered the tea room

"Oh. Morning Nabiki-chan, Ranma-kun." Kasumi responded as she saw the two enter the tearoom. Kasumi's gaze drifted over the two, looking for any signs that could hint at both of them being married. She cursed herself for not finding anything that she could show, but did notice the closeness that they both shared was still there from the day before, _'Maybe they still want to have that threesome.' _she thought as she set the last dish on the table, "Nabiki-chan, could I talk to you for a bit?" Knowing very well that Nodoka was up and fixing breakfast and that she should be back there helping Auntie Saotome, but this information was needed.

Both Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other for a moment before the middle sister decided to go talk to her older sister. Neither of them forgot that Kasumi found them in the furo and probably wanted to talk to them about it before she went to the fathers, "You owe me, Saotome." Nabiki explained to him, pushing a finger against his chest, before following her sister towards the furo where they could talk with some privacy.

As Nabiki entered the laundry room before the furo, Kasumi shut the door quietly and turned to her sister. Her eyes conveyed that she wanted some answers and needed them so she could tell their parents about her sister's hidden municipals with the Saotome heir, "Spill Nabiki."

Even if she had just gotten up, and didn't get quite enough sleep as she wanted, Nabiki knew that her sister wanted the sordid details of her experience with Ranma. Just to be on the safe side, however, she decided that her older sister would have to ask the question first before she would divulge any information, "About what, dear sister?"

"About when you were going to tell me you and Ranma-kun got married!" Though painful to her sister as she lost her balance from the fallout of the question. This caused the middle sister to glare at her peaceful older sister and the brunette wondered why Nabiki was giving her such a stare.

"MARRIED?! What ever gave you such an idea?" Nabiki whispered the quick response to Kasumi, _'This is what I get for trying to play around with Ranma, isn't it?'_ The darker haired woman thought as she saw Kasumi wringing her hands nervously as the brunette thought of how to word her next question.

"But.. You and Little Brother looked so close yesterday." Kasumi looked down at her hands before her thoughts turned a bit naughty at the proposal given to her by Ranma the day before, "Was it true that you wanted a threesome?"

"Kasumi!" Nabiki cried out before being silenced by the knock at the door.

"Is everything all right in there?" This of course happened to be the voice of the individual that both were discussing and Nabiki desperately needed to talk to her older sister about what happened, and why she was not married to the man standing outside the door.

"Everything is fine Ranma-kun. We'll be done talking in a moment." Kasumi's passive voice reached the Saotome heir's ears before there was a response from Ranma, stating that he needed to get ready as well, before he left the two to continue talking. Kasumi's eyes returned to her sister's, as she looked just as nervous as before when asking about her chance to be with Ranma, "So you don't want the threesome?"

_'This girl needs to get laid... And soon.' _Nabiki thought as she tried to come up with a dignified response to her sister's question, "Did you believe that I would marry Ranma-kun?" She responded, sliding the doors to the furo open to get started on her day. Might as well while she was there. She quietly disrobed from her pajamas as she looked at her sister, who watched her with an owlish look upon her face.

_'How else am I supposed to take what I saw in the furo? Both were in the nude, in the furo and probably in the middle of their intercourse.' _Kasumi wondered as her face blossomed into a light red before she responded to her sister's question, "You both looked so close, and unashamed of each other. Like you had been together before."

_'If you only knew dear sister.' _Nabiki thought to herself as she disrobed out of her clothing, "Still Ranma and I have not done anything like that. We weren't in the middle of it last night, and we haven't even been together at all before you walked in on us." She fished out her body soap and shampoo from the small pile of cleaning supplies she kept in the cupboard above the washing machine, "And I don't think that we will have anything like that in the near or distant future."

"But what about a real relationship with him? Do you think you two could become serious with each other?" Kasumi looked at her sister while she was getting her bathing supplies, "He's always sweet and does try to help out when he can, except when he has to keep his friends from damaging the house." Twisting her hair quietly in her fingers, her thoughts focused on the raven haired young man that occupied her thoughts the night before, "Though it would take some time to get some of his bad qualities out, train him up a little in his manners and teach him civility around others. Even a diamond is a rather unattractive rock until it is cleaned and polished up with a little work."

Nabiki turned and looked at her sister with a critical eye, certainly the stud of a martial artist was eye catching and deserved a bit of respect in regards to his physical features, especially what she felt last night before heading out to the club, "My dear, sweet sister. While he is handsome and good to a fault, he's just not the type of guy that I would marry, even with the polishing done to him. He's just a little too rugged for my tastes."

"What about having him as a friend? You don't seem to have many friends that come over do you?" Kasumi tilted her head to the side as she thought of all the times Nabiki had friends over, and couldn't remember a time in the last years even before Ranma arrived that she even brought her friends around the Dojo, "You could at least have a true friend with him, if nothing else."

Nabiki sat on the stool, letting the warm water fall over her body before she began washing herself up, "I don't know Kasumi. After everything that we've been through, will he want to be friends with me?" She rinsed herself off and looked at her sister, "Would he?"

----

Akane walked into her home early that morning after coming back from her friend Sayuri's. While she would have asked Sayuri if she could borrow some of her clothes, she remembered that there was an assignment that she needed to turn in that day. She left her friend's home and arrived with plenty of time to get cleaned up, and eat breakfast before she had to rush to school. As quickly as her feet could take her, she bounded up the stairs, ran down the hall to her room and picked up her bathing supplies and a clean uniform before rushing down the stairs and to the furo. As she opened the door to the changing room, she noticed Ranma putting his shirt over his head. Just like every girl in Furinkan, she knew that Ranma was handsome and very well sculpted. However her experience when he first arrived deterred her from even trying to pursue him, even after when she was told she was his fiancée. _'That is just NOT normal for anyone!'_ She told herself as she remembered how Ranma looked completely nude to her. Her friends continued to badger her, to this day, about what she saw, but she wouldn't budge on telling anyone of that little secret.

Once Ranma's shirt was over his body, her thoughts turned away from the young man before she slipped past him as he exited the room, commenting that the furo was free for her to use. A quick, unfeminine snort sent his way stopped any further comments to be made. The door shut behind the pig-tailed man before Akane stripped herself of her clothing to get ready for her own bath.

Her thoughts continued to plague her about the wedding and what she talked about with her friends the night before, _'I can't believe that they thought Ranma wasn't at fault. Of course he is.'_ Yet maybe she was being a little rough on him. He didn't even know about the wedding or the cask, _'Still that shouldn't excuse him from letting his other fiancées from ruining a special day for me. If he had told them to leave well enough alone the wedding would have gone off without any issues.' _She scrubbed herself down and rinsed off the soap from her body. She would have to talk to him about the wedding when she wasn't as upset as she currently was. Her friends did tell her, last night, to lay off of him for a day and think about what he might have been going through.

While she truly didn't want to marry Ranma when her father asked her to go through with the wedding that both Soun and Genma had setup after they arrived back from China, she thought it might have been because they heard Ranma profess his love to her after the battle of Mount Phoenix and decided that it was his way of asking her to marry him. _'It would have been perfect if that had happened. Professing his love to me and then marrying me once we got back.'_ She shook her head for a moment before closing her eyes. She realized that since the wedding didn't actually happen that Ranma probably didn't tell her that he loved her. _'Still, it's not like I'm in love with the jerk anyway.'_

Turning her head up to look at the ceiling, she thought of all the times Ranma might have said that he loved her or showed any inclination towards any of his other Fiancées that proved to her Ranma only loved her and would want to marry her in the first place. Though the year she could only count a few things that would even come close to an acknowledgement of that. The time when he publicly declared her as his Fiancée during the Ice Skating match between the Golden Pair. The Love Pill Incident that didn't have any affect on him as he looked at her only. And the time when they were stranded on Prince Toma's island and she was, in effect, Toma's bride to be. She knew Ranma cared about her in some form or another, but was it true love? Was it something that they could grow in to and learn to live with?

_'He's my Fiancé and I wont let him go. He was given to me by Daddy, and he will be mine.'_ She clenched her fist and relaxed it. _'And no bimbo from China, no best friend from the Kansai district and no crazy gymnast is going to take him away from me.'_

Akane stood out of the furo and grabbed the towel that was hanging off the rack next to the entrance. Just as she was about to wrap the towel about her body, the door slid open and a large black and white panda bear filled her view. It took both of them a few minutes to look at each other before Akane looked down at herself to believe that she hoped she was covered enough to warrant not screaming. Alas she wasn't and she calmly wrapped herself up in the towel before looking up at the panda bear's face. It wasn't a calming look that adorn her face, but one full of rage that would have scared any lesser man who knew of her fierce temper that was boasted by the male Kuno heir. Pulling her arm back, she clenched her fist as she ignored the signs that Genma was waving before she yelled out her famous battle cry.

----

"PERVERT!"

Outside the furo the occupants in the tearoom looked up from their early morning reprise to look towards the raven-haired young man sitting next to the middle sister this morning. With chopsticks hanging from his mouth as each individual gave him a questioning look that begged for a response from said pig-tailed boy, "It wasn't me." Ranma remarked before family returned back to their meal.

Breakfast continued with a bruised and battered panda quietly eating his food and not looking at the fuming youngster that he was unfortunately sitting next to, while everyone else began to quietly reflect at how calm this breakfast was. No one brought up anything that happened the day before, nor did anyone make any remarks about what just happened a few minutes either. Still there were looks passed between the adults at the table and some between the younger generations, except Akane who glared at anyone who looked towards her. Nodoka, having finished her meal a bit faster than Nabiki normally would have, looked at both Ranma and Akane so she could address them about what bothered her.

"Ranma, Akane, I believe we need to discuss your actions at the wedding yesterday." stated as brought herself up a bit more of the authoritative figure she was portraying herself to be, "While I'm at a loss that the wedding didn't occur the way it should have been, you two should have been at least able to continue with the wedding, even after everything that had happened."

_'What are they trying to pull? I did not do anything to cause this issue and they know it!' _Ranma thought as he wracked his brain for all the actions he did during the wedding and couldn't come up with anything that he didn't try to do or not do to keep himself from going insane with the disaster that happened, "And what actions would that be, Kaa-san?"

Genma rounded and smacked Ranma in the back of the head for the question he asked, pouring a hot cup of tea over his head and changing himself back into the stout man that he naturally became, "Boy! It's because of those other girls that your wedding to Akane didn't go through." He gave a grumble as he thought about how disgraceful his son was before continuing his triad, "You need to take care of those fiancées of yours, and you need to take care of them now!" Both Ranma and Akane looked at Genma with questioning glares, while Nabiki and Kasumi glanced at each other before Kasumi stood and cleaned the dishes off the table that the others were not using.

"And how do you expect me to do this, Old man?" growled the youngest Saotome, what were his parents were talking about. They should have known that he had no control over his other fiancées and he couldn't fix any issues with them without dire consequences to both his personal and family honor, what little was left of said family honor, "I don't see you going to Ucchan's or Shampoo's and fixing the mistake you made for their honor." This left a quiet gasp from Akane and Nodoka and a growl from Genma as close as he could get it without being in his panda form. A quiet wrapping of wood on wood brought the attention of the argument back over to Nodoka, who was beginning to feel that her influence should calm the two men of her family down.

"What I expected of you, was to follow through with the marriage," she quietly admonished her son, not thinking about the other issues that would have in effect when the wedding was complete, "Yet I'm quite surprised that you didn't tell the other girls that they could have waited for their turn to become mistresses after you and Akane were married." Nodoka brought her hands up to her chest and gave a quiet sigh at the thought of all the grandchildren she would have have with each of the women her son would bed if the plan had gone through the way **SHE **wanted. "It would have worked out for the best if you went with what we had planned for the other girls."

This brought some confusion to the Saotome heir, '_We planned? I didn't plan anything like that with you or Pops!'_ Ranma's thoughts drifted after the confirmation of what Nodoka was trying to accomplish. Not that everyone at the table didn't already know that about the auburn-haired woman that visited their home once in a while to make sure Ranma was being 'Manly.' Ranma could only contemplate a response that would not insult his mother. He still respected her, but that respect was slowly dwindling down with each passing day his mother brought out these notions of marriage and how to solve his fiancée problems, _'You just don't go and marry everyone you're promised to. It just doesn't work that way at all.'_ At this time, Nabiki had gotten up and lightly tapped Ranma on the shoulder to let him know that she was leaving. Of course the rest of her family was more involved in the discussion, and it didn't require her to be there any more than necessary. Still she had things that she needed to do and hoped Ranma would be willing to talk about it when they had some time to. Nabiki bid her older sister a good day and left with her bento and school bag before heading out.

While the Saotomes were discussing amongst themselves about what should and should not have occurred yesterday, Soun Tendo decided that he needed to take some type of action before the discussion turned into a brawl. It was healthy to have a good argument between ones parents to show that you were maturing, however this type of argument is not an argument that followed that train of thought. "Clearly the wedding cannot proceed under these conditions." Soun stated as he brought everyone to his attention. Feeling that he needed to get what should have been the original point of the talk out he continued, "As is proper, lingering relationships should be settled before a couple can be married. We can all see that you have plenty of those." Both Nodoka and Genma nodded as they felt that they were both right in needing these relationships figured out, "So we have arranged for the wedding to be delayed, until you can sort out your personal affairs."

Akane knew that what her father was talking about didn't apply to her, as she didn't have any unwanted suitors that continued to ignore her demands. Yet she couldn't forget that there was one suitor who just wouldn't leave well enough alone, and she hoped that once she was married to someone else, that suitor would acknowledge her right to marry whomever she wanted to, "Pay attention, Ranma! All this mostly applies to you." she glanced over at the pig-tailed boy and wondered what he was going to do about the problems now that her father brought them up.

When Akane spoke directly to him, he focused all of his attention towards her. She soon realized that having the full attention of Ranma Saotome was not in anyones best interest at this time. Ranma gave the youngest Tendo daughter a glare as he decided she needed reminding of some of the other patrions that were at the wedding that were there specifically for her, "This was just as much your fault for what happened yesterday, Akane." He started, ticking off his fingers as he named the suitors that were at the wedding trying to marry her, "You have Kunou, Ryouga, Gosenkugi. All of them were there to see if they could try to marry you." He stopped there before his thoughts frustrated him further than what he should have been, '_I don't plan on being roped in like this between her father and my parents.'_ Ranma thought as he watched Akane open her mouth to retort only to stop once he turned his attention back to the Tendo patriarch, "So what do you want me to do about it, Tendo-san?" It was a simple question, and one he thought that either his parents or Soun Tendo would be able to answer, "How am I suppose to resolve the problem with these girls when the only one who can honorably do so is Pops?" He growled once more, gritting his teeth before he blew a gasket at the patriarch for the loss of the Nannichuan, which would be discussed after he could get Soun alone.

Deciding that Ranma was not being what she felt was manly, Nodoka made her opinion stand out as she addressed her son in the proper way of respecting ones elders, "Ranma, why are you trying to make Tendo-san feel like he's the culprit in this whole issue?" This brought her son to look at her as she continued to tell her son how he should be treating the host of where he was currently staying, "You know that he is allowing you to stay in his home..."

"Because, _Kaa-san_," Ranma glared at his mother, "He distinctly took something that was rightfully mine and used it as a bartering chip to marry his daughter!" He waited for his mother to answer before glaring at his Old Man, when he didn't give a response to why Soun did what he tried, he brought the same glare to the man responsible for the issue in the first place. This of course didn't result in any response from him as well. Frustrated beyond belief, he stood up and left the family members left in the tea room to gape at his departure from the conversation.

Akane scrambled up as she saw her fiancé leave the table. She quickly grabbed her shoes and book bag before yelling out, "Ranma!" She was able to get her shoes on her feet and start chasing after Ranma towards school, _'What has gotten into him?'_ were her last thoughts as she tried to keep up with her fiancé.

----

Ranma stormed out of the Tendo-ke as he headed towards school. He didn't want to deal with Akane's temper while his mother and both of the fathers were arguing with him about the wedding. They should have understood that talking about the wedding so soon would have bad repercussions. As upset as he was, he ignored his usual mode of transportation across the fences as his focus would have had an unsatisfactory effect of him falling from that perch. His thoughts turned away from the discussion to a more pleasant thought of Nabiki and his time with her in the club. It was an interesting experience, and one he would like to continue, but the fear of what might happen when the rest of the fiancées found out that he was going behind their backs and going out with the Ice Queen of Furinkan caused him to decide that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to go out with Nabiki any time soon. _'Not like I have much of a choice. They'll kill her if they found out exactly what we were doing.'_ Ranma's eyes were downcast as he thought of a reason to NOT go out with the middle sister again. Yet he couldn't even think of such a reason. _'It was very fun, and nice. And she seemed to enjoy the dancing as well.' _He cautiously licked his lips as he remembered the kiss and remarks from last night and wondered why she teased him about it. _'Or maybe she wasn't teasing...'_ Considering that his mind kept replaying what the middle sister told him just before they headed to bed kept him pretty much awake for most of that night.

He slowed his approach to the school and looked up as he saw a lone figure standing in the middle of the field between him and the entrance to the school. The Blue Thunder just couldn't let Ranma have twenty-four hours of peace, now could he. Tatewaki Kunou stood at the entrance, his blue kendo garb shifted in the dramatic that picked up, by a conveniently placed stage fan that Sasuke had found in one of the many storage facilities on the campus. Kunou looked at his nemesis for Akane and the Pig-tailed girl and wondered to himself if this would be the day that Ranma Saotome would fall. The wedding he was invited to failed to occur and he knew that the Pig-tailed girl and Akane would thank him for showing the wretched cur the error of his ways.

"Saotome. How dare you try to wed the youngest Tendo, when you should have known that only I am to wed her." Kunou took a few steps forward while he brought the scabbard forth to show Ranma that he was in deed meaning business. "You have absconded with the Kunou clan in their affairs with the honorable Tendo clan for the last time!" Tatewaki Kunou pulled on the handle from the scabbard to reveal the live steel that kept the weapon hidden. He charged at the pig-tailed youth, raising the blade over his head like a true samurai would have in the fields of battles long ago. His aim was true until he felt himself impact against the foot of his foul enemy.

Ranma slowly brought his foot back from hitting the Kunou heir only to snap his leg out once more against the kendoist's chest knocking his opponent out of the way before his anger over took his actions. Kunou slid back just enough to allow a roundhouse kick to slam in to his head, toppling the older boy to the ground. The Kendoist rolled with the blow only to stop in a lowered position to see Ranma's foot connect to the underside of his chin, lifting him up in to the air for several jabs to connect with his chest, slamming Kunou back into a tree. The sword dropped from his hand only momentarily, which happened to be enough time for Ranma to flick it upward and away from the Blue Thunder before catching it in his hand. "Listen Kunou." Ranma began, twirling the sword around to feel how the blade weighed, "What you did yesterday dishonored the Kunou clan. You put yourself in the middle of an agreement that was between the Tendo and Saotome clans."

"You lie, cur!" Kunou forced himself to stand up, trying to make himself seem better than his pig-tailed nemesis, "Anything that involves the fair Tendo Akane will have to be sanctioned though the house of Kunou first." This was, of course, the wrong thing to say to a very upset Ranma. Kunou stopped his speech as he felt his hakama cut near his shoulder. A look to his left showed the Kunou blade embedded deep in the tree behind him, barely past his shoulder. As he looked back to his aggressor, his eyes met the disturbingly stormy eyes of his foe.

"Kunou, you just made a fatal mistake." Ranma brought his knee up into the stomach of the Kunou heir, hard, and pulled him away from the tree, only for Ranma to roll onto his back and toss the aforementioned Kunou behind him and into the ground several feet away. Rolling himself back up into a standing position, his feet taking him to the downed Kunou and picked him up off the ground, "Next time you bare steel on or near the Tendo Dojo, and it involves both the Saotome and Tendo clans, you won't be able to lift the sword you bring with you." Ranma then kicked the older student back against the wall of the school, causing several cracks to be heard that sickened some of the student population. Ranma proceeded in to the school and up to his homeroom class. This surprised some of the populous as this would be the first time Ranma arrived at school, not only early enough but without his fiancée, Akane.

Moments later, Akane arrived and looks over at Ranma in bewilderment before glaring at him for nearly making her late, the bell rang as the rest of the students piled in to their classrooms, forgetting about Kunou as he laid against the wall of the school, moaning in quiet agony from the few broken bones in his ribs and shoulders.

----

As school progressed for the three students of the Tendo-ke, Kasumi and Nodoka had begun to clean the kitchen and get ready for lunch. They both decided something light for lunch and a bit of ramen would wet the appetites of the four in the household. The small talk that started between the two women was directed towards the discussion that occurred earlier that morning.

"I can't believe that my own son would do such a thing." Nodoka started, cutting up the vegetables and meat for the ramen while Kasumi got the water and noodles ready on the stove, "Ignoring the words of his parents. If he just listened to what we told him, he would be married and start having those grandchildren I've wanted."

Kasumi gave the older woman a glance as she placed the noodles in the boiling water, giving the noodles a quick stir to make sure that there wasn't anything missing for the noodles. "What about Ranma's wants and needs?" she questioned, wondering what her thoughts were for her own son's desires.

Nodoka looked up from her cutting and gently waved her free had as if to dismiss the actual question, or dismiss the thought that Ranma had his own wants and needs, "He should be doing what his parents want of him first before his own desires are taken care of. Most of his desires have already been taken care of as we planned out his marriage to your sister and giving him those mistresses." Chopping the last of the vegetables, before she started cutting the meat that would be put into the ramen.

The brunette rolled her eyes as she stirred the noodles and prepared to add the broth to the ramen once it was ready, _'I don't think you even know a little bit of what Ranma-kun desires.'_ Kasumi could attest to that as she and Ranma had a few discussions before the wedding of what he would like to do, but now that he caught the attention of Nabiki, those discussions may not happen as often as she would like. "Still, Auntie, are you not presuming a little too much about what Ranma-kun wants?"

This stopped Nodoka from finishing up cutting the food as she focused her attention on the oldest daughter in the Tendo-ke. While it was true that she _didn't_ raise her son. She believed that she could figure out what her son wanted and desired during the time she was around him. Even if most of those desires were partially what she wanted her son to do for her. "Preposterous, Kasumi-chan. I think that I have some knowledge of what my son wants in life." She set the knife down on the cutting board and scooped up what she had cut up in to bowls for Kasumi to reach quickly when the time to put everything together was set. "But there are some things he must relinquish and follow through. He should do as his parents ask, as we have his best interests in mind."

"Are they the best interests for him? Or for you?"

----

The bell rang for lunchtime and everyone decided to escape the indoors halls of the school and enjoy the bright sunshine that rose during the day. While many were sitting with friends and talking about what happened that morning, Ranma sat himself upon a lone branch that overlooked the open football fields and grounds. With the bento Kasumi and his mother made for him open, he idly picked at his food and contemplated what was going to happen after school let out. He knew that he had to deal with Soun's abuse of authority in taking an item that was addressed specifically to him. And that was something he was going to talk to the older man about once he was able to discuss it with him. Taking a bite as he savored the food in his hand, he caught sight of Nabiki and her crew stepping out to also enjoy the early afternoon. He knew that something was up and that Nabiki knew more of what was happening. If last night in the furo gave him any indication that what his father was thinking about and he knew about what was going to happen if he married Akane before he was of age. Still that wouldn't deter him from doing what he wanted to do. A few more quick bites of his bento before his head jerked up from hearing someone below him.

"Saotome!" Nabiki yelled, she had been trying to get his attention for the last few minutes. _'Something must be on his mind if he hasn't finished that bento.'_ she thought as Ranma put the lunch away and dropped down next to the middle Tendo daughter. _'Still, if it's about what he did to Kunou, I wouldn't be surprised.'_ Nabiki stepped closer to the pigtailed boy, "So, what declaration did Kunou-chan exclaim this time to deserve several broken ribs?" She questioned. While she was there early enough to proceed with a few of her normal betting pools and other information selling schemes, she wasn't in the vicinity of where Ranma when both he and Kunou fought. So instead of listening to the rumor mill, she headed straight for the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Ranma gave the middle sister a quiet snort as he turned away, walking to the trunk of the tree before sitting himself down. "His usual declarations. Except that he brought live steel to a public location." Ranma figured she would have had this information all ready, her other informants were close by to hear some of what was said between the two.

"That doesn't tell me a lot, Saotome." The brunette tapped her finger on her chin in thought before setting herself down next to him. Though not uncomfortably close, she was close enough to him that they could whisper and still be heard between each other, "Was it his undying affection to rid you of both your alter-ego and my baby sister?" Ranma shook his head to indicate that wasn't what happened. "What about his proclamation that you're an enemy of women? That you lead so many of us poor, unappreciated flowers away so that you can have your wicked way with us?" She finished with a wink, causing the Saotome heir to quietly chuckle at the remark.

Ranma began to understand that Nabiki was trying to make light of what happened that morning and knew she was teasing. He could learn to like Nabiki if all she did was just teasing. Though he figured that one good laugh deserved another, "Unappreciated? You know we guys appreciate you, though some appreciate certain parts of you." They both laughed and settled in to finish their bentos, "No, that wasn't it either." Ranma calmly responded to the unanswered question.

"Then what happened?"

Ranma released the breath that he held and looked at Nabiki as he spoke, "He thinks he lords over what happens to Akane." Nabiki blinked at the answer, wondering exactly what he meant before it started to click for her. Her all ready neutral face began to drift to a more apparent anger before she caught herself and replaced her expression with that of her normal icy persona.

_'That.. That damned Kunou-chan.'_ Nabiki growled in her thoughts, _'He's really taking this whole noble samurai and daimyo act too far if he thinks that he controls what we do in our house.'_ Her grip tightened around her chopsticks that she had before letting it relax and took a few meditative breaths._ 'I might have contributed to some of that, but that wasn't supposed to happen like this. I took great means to make sure that it didn't get out of hand when producing pictures of my sister to him.'_ Nabiki gave a quiet shudder, as she thought was Kunou might have done if he was enamored with her. _'I'm not letting him act like that again. Especially after what happened this morning.'_

Ranma saw the middle sister shudder and figured that she was thinking about what Kunou said. He looked down at his bento and quickly finished what was left before looking back at her, "So now you see why I decided to hurt him a bit more?" Nabiki gave a nod herself. The lunch bell rang after the quiet moments between them faded, letting the students know that they had to be back in their class rooms. When Ranma stood up, he helped the mercenary Tendo up off the ground and walked with her towards the entrance of the school.

"Ranma." He looked to Nabiki, giving her the attention she requested of him, "For what its worth, thank you for defending our family honor." She stepped inside and headed to her homeroom to finish the rest of the school day.

----

Nodoka sat in the middle of the room that housed her son for the better part of the year. She wished that her husband and son had visited her first before deciding to go over to stay at the Tendo's. _'It wouldn't have hurt them to stop by.'_ She thought, _'I wouldn't have held Ranma or my husband up to that contract if I had at least seen him first before they told me about the curse.'_ She took a deep breath before exhaling, allowing her to calm down. She couldn't find any fault for their reasons of why they didn't stop to see her because of her wishes should Ranma not meet her requirements as a man among men._ 'But I promised myself that I would be a better mother to Ranma.'_

Her thoughts, however, were a bit disturbed at what the eldest daughter of Soun Tendo said to her. _'Do I really know Ranma all that well? Is what I want and he wants the same?'_ She questioned herself for only that moment before shaking her head as she banished such thoughts. _'No I know exactly what my son wants. And he would want to please his mother first by doing what I ask of him.'_ She stood up and picked up the silk bundle she carried around with her. _'I will make sure my son chooses the right path to take. And that will allow me to have all of the grandchildren I want.'_

With the grace of practice and experience, she walked down the stairs and stepped into the tearoom, where she saw her husband and his devoted friend playing their game of go. _'It seems that the discussion this morning had an adverse affect between the two. They are not cheating each other out of their pieces and positions.'_ Nodoka observed as she strode over to her husband and lightly patted his shoulder, "Husband, I require an escort to help me with groceries for tonights dinner." She asked of him, _'And maybe we can talk about what exactly is happening between my son and his entourage of fiancées.'_

Genma looked up from his game to see that his wife of seventeen years needed his assistance. While it was a known fact that Genma Saotome was afraid of what his wife would do to him for certain things, he knew when to give up and follow what his wife asked him to do. This happened to be one such time._ 'Maybe we could finish the game later.'_ He thought as he moved one last piece on the board before standing up, "Good game friend. Perhaps we can finish this game when the children aren't here."

"Quite right, Saotome-kun. Another time perhaps." Soun agreed with his friend and let the Saotome couple leave his home to pick up what groceries she required. It would give him some time to think about the day before and what occurred that morning.

----

Just as the Saotome couple turned the corner towards the market plaza, Ranma-chan arrived in front of the gates to the Tendo-ke. Having been splashed along the way to her destination, Ranma-chan gently twisted the edges of her silk shirt and stepped up to the entryway.

"I'm home." She called out, hoping Kasumi was around with something to dry her hair out so she didn't get water all over the floor.

"Welcome home, Ranma-kun." Kasumi looked out from the kitchen to the door and noticed the damp state the redhead was in. "Just a moment Ranma-kun and I'll have a towel for you." Kasumi's head slipped back into the kitchen only to have her walk out a moment later with a small towel she kept just in case for Ranma-chan or her father.

"Thank you, Kasumi." Ranma-chan responded after receiving the towel, giving the older girl a smile that was returned, "What would I do without you?" she playfully said.

"Probably make a mess of everything you do." Kasumi's rebuttal earned the redhead's laughter that wasn't forced, "How was your day at school?" She asked of Ranma-chan, as they both headed towards the kitchen to let Kasumi finish up cleaning.

Ranma-chan's face became sour as she thought of the day up until just that moment. She knew that letting Kasumi worry about what happened would only make the household feel just as sad, and she didn't want to dampen the mood that Kasumi was all ready feeling. But one just doesn't lie to Kasumi Tendo. It was just not in anyone's nature to lie to the oldest Tendo daughter. "Not so well, Kasumi."

"Oh? So tell me about it? Maybe that'll make you feel better about what happened."

Ranma-chan began telling Kasumi of her day, including the fight between herself and Kunou. While most of it was the usual scatterings of what happened in days past, this time it was more emotional because of the day before.

Kasumi listened with rapt attention as Ranma-chan finished her tale, offering some tea to help calm the martial artist as she sat in front of the Jusenkyo victim, "That's very unfortunate, Ranma-kun." She reached over and patted his hand softly, "Maybe you need a few days to unwind."

"Maybe Kasumi." Ranma-chan looked up at Kasumi before taking tea from the oldest Tendo daughter before taking a few sips. "If I can get some time to myself I would."

"You can always ask Nabiki to help you there. I'm sure she could get it so you had that time to yourself." Kasumi mentioned before she took a few sips from her own cup. Ranma-chan looked at her as if she just told her to jump into Jusenkyo head first.

"Maybe I will." Ranma-chan said as she finished her cup.

----

Nabiki arrived home an hour after Ranma-chan had arrived. She figured Ranma would head home right after school got out, as he never signed up for any club activities for the most obvious reasons. Sliding the door open, she called out that she was home before taking off her shoes at the entryway and headed up the stairs, noticing Kaumi's quiet reply that welcomed her home. She slipped into her room and removed her school uniform so she could slip into her usual shorts and t-shirt she habitually wore. Once completed, she stepped out of her room to head for the kitchen when she noticed Ranma stepping out of his room. "Saotome." She called out to him, "Can I have a word with you?"

Ranma looked at Nabiki before responding back to her, "Sure. What did ya want to talk about?" Ranma took a moment to lean up against the wall he was close to.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a bit this weekend. You seemed to enjoy yourself last night." Nabiki noted as she remembered the night in question.

_'Do I really want to go out with her again?' _Ranma's thoughts started to contemplate the idea of going with the middle sister,_ 'It was fun to go out and act like a normal person. Not having to worry about my Fiancés or anyone else. But will I get that chance to have the same thing again?'_ Ranma's finger tapped against his chin as he gave it some more thought before responding to Nabiki's request, "Honestly, I'm not sure Nabiki. I don't want to see you hurt because you're trying to show me a good time." It was a legitimate concern for him. If Nabiki was hurt during their 'date,' as his followers would probably think it was, it might ruin what growing relationship he has currently with her.

Nabiki looked at Ranma for a moment, believing he was breaking up what friendship she was starting to have with him before reviewing what he said to her_. 'He is right about that. I might get hurt because of his rivals. Or from his Fiancées that think that I'm taking their man. Not that I would take him.' _She reminded herself at the last minute. She knew that he was a handful if the past year told her anything of the martial artist. "Well I can't force you to go, Saotome. But the offer is there if you want to take it." Nabiki's fingers traced across his collarbone before she continued towards the kitchen, swinging her hips to tease the Saotome heir.

Ranma stood there for a moment, watching the brunette leave his line of sight while admiring her backside that she was teasing him with. He shook his head before heading to the dojo to get a few kata exercises in before dinner.

-X-X-X-

That night, dinner was a quiet affair as everyone decided not to disturb the current peace that was affecting everyone. Even the two Saotome men were not fighting eachother for the food on their plates. It was just the calm that would occur before the raging storm approached the household and they knew this calm wouldn't last. Soon it was time for the three students to start on their homework and head off to bed, while Kasumi and Nodoka cleaned off the table and washed the dishes, saving any leftover food that they could. Ranma had taken the time to grab his book bag and climb to the top of the Tendo-ke so he could study without having to bother anyone. As he completed his assignments, thoughts entered his mind of what he was going to do with Soun Tendo.

_'If it wasn't for him and trying to hide the cask from me when it should have gone directly to me I would have been cured of the curse.' _The pigtailed boy took note of that as he decided that he needed to speak with the Tendo patriarch about his treatment of Ranma's property and Soun's reason for using the cask of Jusenkyo water to keep him in line_. 'We're definitely going to have a few words about that cask.' _Ranma began as he closed his books. He placed his notes and schoolwork in his satchel before climbing back into his room. He noticed that his parents were not in the room like they were last night after the wedding before he placed his school pack next to the door. He unfolded the shiki futon and kake futon from the bedding closet in the room before taking off his clothing, leaving him in his customary tank top and boxers. Covering himself in the kake futon comforter he drifted off to sleep.

-X-X-X-

The sun rose the next morning and only the early risers were up to greet it as it passed the horizon. Soun Tendo was one of those individuals. as he sat on the veranda overlooking the koi pond. Breakfast had just be servered minutes ago and it was a good time to let the food digest properly. As nice as it would have been, a game of Go or Shogi would make the morning be just that much better. But Genma had decided to follow his wife back to their home. The excuse was to start rebuilding the Saotome home, but Soun knew that it must have been in regards to the wedding that happend a few days ago. Soun frowned as he remembered the attempt to marry his daughter off and his 'old friend's' part in disrupting it. 'Ahh.. A waste of a good morning.' He said to himself while watching the sun continue to rise.

"Tendo-san? Could I have a moment of your time?"

Soun turned slightly, seeing the boy he'd hoped would be his 'legal' son and heir by now stepping out of the house to join him on the veranda.

"Of course, Son. Please, join me," he responded, indicating for Ranma to sit beside him before once again looking out over the garden. "It's a beautiful day this morning, isn't it, Son?"

"Actually, Tendo-san," Ranma stated, an unusually hard edge to his voice and choosing to remain standing, "I'm not your 'son', yet."

"Ah, but you will be, once you do the 'honorable' thing and marry my sweet little Akane," Soun stated, getting to his feet. Something about the boy this morning was making him nervous and his long dormant 'fight-or-flight' instincts were acting up. It didn't take a genius to understand that the boy may have been a little upset about the previous day's incident, so Soun attempted to move their conversation away from such topics. "But enough about weddings, for now. We can try again, at a later date, once you've resolved your relationships with those other girls. Now, what was it that you wanted to talk about, Son?"

Ranma was trying to keep his frustrations in check and not attack the Tendo patriarch outright for daring to remind HIM of what was 'honorable' and once again foisting the problem of the fiancées off on him to solve, instead of the one who'd created those very problems in the first place... Genma Saotome. Reining in his rapidly dwindling control of his temper, Ranma gave the older man a hard glare as he spoke, "Tendo-san, I understand that the cask of Nanniichuan that was LOST yesterday had been sent here by the Jusenkyo Guide as a gift TO ME for helping to restore the cursed springs?"

Soun nodded slowly, his mind scrambling for an answer that would seem logical and curtail thoughts of reprisal, "Yes, there was a cask that came here. It was addressed in the 'care of the Tendo Dojo' and assumed to be used as I, as the Master of the Dojo, saw fit." He turned to look at the Saotome heir, a smile on his face, before continuing, "So, I thought it would make a fine addition to the dowry of this Dojo when you married my little girl."

Ranma glared at the older, supposedly wiser, man as the tenuous grasp he held on his anger began to slip and his battle aura became visible, causing Soun to pale and step back as he prepared to make a run for it. 'He's getting to be just as powerful as the Master.' Odd how that thought seemed to appear in his mind before all hell broke loose between himself and the Saotome heir.

"You ASSUMED that with TWO Jusenkyo curse victims residing in your house," Ranma growled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, "that the cask was sent to YOU?! You ASSUMED that you could do with it as YOU saw fit, even after the Guide called you and told you SPECIFICALLY who it was intended for and WHY?!" Ranma's battle aura continued to grow as his anger mounted and his voice rose. "You had the GALL to use it to BLACKMAIL your own daughter into agreeing to marry me and THEN intended to hold it for RANSOM in order to gain MY cooperation in marrying your daughter!"

"Now, Son," Soun nervously began, "I just wanted to ensure that you would finally marry my little gir--"

"SILENCE!!!" Ranma roared, unconsciously strengthening his voice with his chi and nearly causing the windows of the house to shatter. "You had NO right to withhold what was clearly MY property! Nor did you have the right to try to use it as you did, which resulted in its LOSS! YOU OWE ME, TENDO! For the DISHONOR and DISRESPECT that you have shown me, a GUEST in your home, you OWE me!"

Soun, sensing his absolute authority in his own home being threatened by Ranma, resorted to his 'Demon-Head Attack' in an attempt to intimidate the younger male into submission to his will. Right or wrong was irrelevant. The Dojo was HIS home and HE was its only master. That was the way it had always been and that was the way it would always remain, even after Ranma finally gave in and married Akane. Unfortunately for Soun, and unlike all the previous times he'd used the technique to intimidate the boy into backing down, Ranma merely sneered at the ki-attack and with a wave of his left arm backhanded Soun's demon-head with his own battle aura, which disrupted Soun's attack and caused a backlash of energy that forced Soun to his knees.

"N-now, Son," Soun stuttered in shock at the failure of his technique and more than a little fear of what Ranma would do next, "I-I was only doing what I felt b-best for y-you and Akane."

"YOU WERE DOING IT FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH REASONS AND NOTHING ELSE!!!" Ranma roared, before his voice lowered to a throaty growl. "You owe me, Tendo! And one day I WILL collect! Pray that you do nothing else to increase that debt, or force me into collecting upon it in the near future! And don't you EVER think that YOU know what is in MY best interest ever again, as you have CLEARLY shown that you care only for YOUR OWN selfish desires and nothing else!" With that said, Ranma struggled to regain control of his anger before the now trembling Tendo patriarch, immersing himself in the 'Soul of Ice' technique and causing the moisture in the air to condense around him, activating his curse, before forming a layer of frost upon the now slightly charred flooring of the veranda.

Throwing a last withering glare at the cowering creature before her, Ranma-chan turned and walked back into the house. She paused upon seeing Kasumi and Nabiki just inside the entrance, having obviously heard most if not all of what had just taken place, before releasing a weary sigh and continuing on further into the house. She needed to regain her center and, as the dojo had yet to be cleaned, that meant meditating in her room. Fortunately, her father was presently displaying what little intelligence he possessed and was staying out of her sight, so she should have ample privacy for at least a little while.

----

The two eldest Tendo daughters silently watched the redhead walk out of sight, different thoughts flowing through their minds at this most recent event.

Nabiki shivered slightly as the cooled air of Ranma-chan's passing wafted about her. She'd known that Ranma had been upset about the wedding attempt and the loss of the Nanniichuan, but she hadn't expected the Saotome heir to actually develop enough backbone as to actually confront her father, in the manner he had, on what he'd done, let alone claim that an 'Honor Debt' was now owed to him. That Ranma had had to resort to the 'Soul of Ice' technique in order to control himself spoke clearly of how close things had come to turning violent.

Kasumi, for her part, watched Ranma-chan walk away with a sorrowful expression. It was only due to her belief in being a dutiful and obedient daughter that she hadn't confronted her father, herself, over his recent actions. Especially in regards to the loss of what may have been Ranma's last chance at a cure for his curse.

More often than not, Kasumi had been the one to comfort the distraught young man when some new aspect of his curse surprised him, to explain how the female body functioned, and to soothe his frayed nerves after he'd suffered all-too-frequent nightmares of 'herself' becoming intimate with various boys. And that wasn't even considering the other types of nightmares Ranma suffered from, thanks to all that his father had put him through. Kasumi didn't believe for an instant that it was 'for the sake of the Art' or to make Ranma 'more of a man', as Mr. Saotome was so fond of saying about his 'training' efforts. Kasumi recognized blatant laziness and idiocy when she saw it. The vast majority of Genma's training methods were nothing more than extremely dangerous 'shortcuts' that placed Ranma in life-threatening situations, just so Genma wouldn't have to exert himself more than was absolutely necessary.

Kasumi had heard most of the discussion between Ranma and her father, and she found herself in total agreement with Ranma. What her father had attempted to do was both dishonorable and disrespectful of a guest in their home. While it was true that the cask of Nanniichuan water had been sent in 'care of the Tendo Dojo', Kasumi had found the receipt from the delivery service in the trash and it had clearly stated that Ranma Saotome was to be the recipient... NOT the Dojo and NOT her father!

Looking towards her now weeping father, as he blubbered on about the schools never being joined, Kasumi felt an uncharacteristic need to punish the overgrown child that passed itself off as an adult. And for once, made no move to go comfort the crybaby, instead turning about and moving back towards her kitchen.

"Nabiki, perhaps you could check up on Ranma-kun and make certain he is alright," Kasumi said over her shoulder, recalling the argument between the two that she'd overheard the night before and that the two had parted on reasonably good terms. She was just thankful that she'd sent Akane on a short run to the grocery store right after breakfast, or things could have gone considerably worse this morning.

----

Ranma-chan sat, lotus-fashion, on her futon, still employing the 'Soul of Ice' technique and trying to bring her anger back in check through meditation. As the more spiritual aspects of the Art had been something Genma actively discouraged whenever possible, as they tended to promote thought and reason, Ranma-chan was only having minor success in calming herself down from her encounter with Soun 'Waterworks' Tendo. Even so, she had been successful enough in submerging her consciousness as to be unaware of the entrance of another person into the room, until she felt a hand placed upon her shoulder... and a loud, colorful, series of expletives escaping the lips of the possessor of said hand as it was quickly removed from her person. Smirking humorously at Nabiki's colorful language, Ranma-chan ceased using the 'Soul of Ice' technique and turned about to see the still softly cursing Nabiki attempting to rub some feeling back into her now numb hand.

"Damn it, Saotome, I knew you could be a cold bastard upon occasion, but do you have to take my title of 'Ice Queen' as well?" Nabiki demanded, moving her fingers slowly and grimacing at the 'pins-and-needles' sensation that encompassed her entire hand.

Ranma-chan shook her head with a grin before taking the older girl's hand into her own smaller ones. Gently massaging Nabiki's hand, Ranma-chan began to slowly infuse some of her own chi into the cool flesh to warm it and ensure that no actual damage had occurred. "I couldn't pull it off as well as you, even if I can generate a cold aura," she responded. "How does your hand feel now?"

Nabiki, almost reluctantly, withdrew her hand from the warm embrace of Ranma-chan's hands, clenching it into a fist a few times and assuring herself that it felt back to normal. "It's better now," she said, gazing at the petite redhead and contemplating the best way to bring up the recent confrontation on the veranda. Seeing Ranma-chan's expression sadden as she released a soft sigh, Nabiki pressed ahead before she completely lost her nerve, "Ranma... about the 'debt' my father now owes you..."

Ranma-chan's eyes hardened in an instant, causing Nabiki to cease talking. "That is nothing you need to worry about, Nabiki. It is strictly between me and your father," she growled lowly. "It was NOT the Tendo 'family' that withheld MY property and subsequently lost it. It was Soun Tendo, acting alone and in his own self-interest, that was responsible. Therefore, it is Soun Tendo and Soun Tendo alone, that I am holding in my debt. I just hope he has more honor left in him than my own worthless father."

"All right, I just meant that if he doesn't follow through with what he owes you, then I'll see what I can do to make sure he does honor that debt," Nabiki said.

"Don't worry about it, Nabiki," Ranma-chan said, her expression softening. "If he fails to honor his debts, then he merely proves that HE is without honor, not the Tendo family as a whole." Feeling calmer now, Ranma-chan rose to her feet and reached out to help Nabiki up. Not entirely calmed, however, she used a bit more strength than necessary in assisting Nabiki to her feet and Nabiki stumbled forward slightly, so that they ended up bosom to bosom just as the door to the room slammed open.

"Ranma! Hurry up or we'll... be..." Akane stood there in the doorway, her eyes widening almost comically as she took in the scene before her. There were her sister and her unwanted fiancé, presently in girl form, standing so close together that their breasts were flattened against the other, their lips scant inches apart, and clasping each other's hands. It looked so intimate... so erotic... so... "Pervert!" Akane spat giving them both a hard glare, before turning about and stomping away. A few moments later they could hear, and feel, the front door slamming shut.

"Was she calling 'me' a pervert, like always, or you?" Ranma-chan asked, still looking towards the open doorway. "Or both of us?"

Nabiki wasn't entirely certain, herself. Still, she wasn't about to pass up this opportunity she'd been given and wiggled her upper body slightly, while leaning more forcefully against the smaller girl, distracting her long enough for Nabiki to free her hands from Ranma-chan's and grab hold of her shapely bottom to give it a good hard squeeze.

"Eep!" Ranma-chan squeaked, her eyes widening at the surprise assault upon her person, before her expression turned scolding. "Nabiki," she growled, reaching back and firmly pried Nabiki's hands from her bottom. "Never mind who Akane meant, I KNOW who the real pervert in this room is!"

"Aw, you're no fun!" Nabiki mock pouted, but nonetheless backed off.

"Whatever," she said, ushering the older girl towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get ready for school."

"I'm willing to help you dress," Nabiki fired back playfully. "No charge even!"

"Out!"

----

Akane huffed as she exited her home while digesting the scene she saw between her older sister and her Fiancé. _'It just wasn't that they were intimate. They both had clothing on.'_ She thought as she ran towards the school. _'It's all Ranma's fault. Why can't he figure out what I want and just let me have it!' _Her complaint was all for naught as she entered the school and headed for her classroom.

Both Nabiki and Ranma knew that after the little 'incident' this morning that talking about what happened might spark off a heated debate between them. As Ranma had stated, it wasn't her fault and it was all her father's as he kept property that was for Ranma and Ranma only. They walked in companionable silence as each thought of other things to keep from bringing up that morning. _'Maybe Ryonami would like to go to that new club that's opening this weekend. I could definitely use it to get some frustrations out.'_

Ranma was forcing his mind to leave his discussion with the Tendo patriarch and give more attention to how he was going to explain the scene to Akane. Truthfully he wished that Akane would at least ask or question something before she thought that he was at fault with whatever looked or seemed wrong in her eyes, but as usual he would have to at least find some way to get her to talk to him so he could explain. _'Maybe tomorrow. I really don't want to deal with her temper today if I can avoid it.'_

Both arrived at the gates to the school without any problems. That brought a bit of fear to Ranma as he knew something was going to happen today. It had been far too quiet after he beat Kunou to the ground the day before. Yet he knew that if he asked for something to happen at that moment, that something would happen to him. He gave Nabiki a parting goodbye and walked to his classroom as Nabiki went to hers. Once he slid the door open, he did notice someone who would not make the day very pleasant for him.

Sitting at her desk, because she had been absent yesterday to heal up from the wedding disaster, Ukyo Kuonji gave him a smile and a wave, beckoning him to sit next to her before class started. Her smile faded as she saw Ranma turn his head away from her and sit down at his desk that was a few seats away from hers. _'What's got his boxers in a pinch.'_ She thought. Class, unfortunately for her, started as soon as Ranma had sat down at his desk. Ukyo wished she had some time to talk to him about the day before and make her own statements about her actions. She settled for writing a small note that asked him what she was thinking and passing it to him with help from the other students.

Ranma took a quick look at the note before his face took on a scowl as he read the cute handwriting before crumpling it up and setting it aside on his desk. Ukyo noticed that the paper was crumpled and made a angry face of her own at the boy she had given the note to. Another note was written, asking him bluntly what crawled up his ass and died. Again this note followed the first and caused a small tick to appear above the eyebrow of the okonomiyaki chef. Several more notes passed from Ukyo to Ranma, each note being read and ignored by the pigtailed boy as he listened to the lesson as best as he could.

Over in another part of the classroom, Akane Tendo took quiet glances at the same pigtailed boy that was currently running in her thoughts. After she completely digested the scene that she walked in on, she figured that Ranma couldn't have been the pervert. While the position was very intimate, it wasn't something that he would do normally. _'He's more of a grab and glomp than a tender hold.' _She rationalized before glancing once more at the pigtailed boy, spotting the notes that were being passed to him. _'Why would he be getting notes? Everyone knows he's mine.'_ That was currently debatable at the moment as she tried very hard to find a reason why she should still keep the jerk. _'I'll have to keep an eye on him.'_ She thought as she continued to watch notes being passed to him.

During the rest of the class period until lunch, all of the notes being passed to Ranma had piled up next to his head. Ranma tried very hard not to fall asleep once again in class, but it was for naught. Still the teacher droned on about the assignment before the bell rang, telling everyone that lunch had started. Ranma got up as he heard the ringing of the bell, picked up the crumpled notes and tossed them into the trash bin before he jumped out the window to his usual place he had lunch. This upset Ukyo as she wanted desperately to talk to him and hunting him down at lunch would take some time. She grabbed her weapon of choice and left the classroom to catch Ranma before he could settle down. She arrived at the main courtyard of the school and spotted him in the tree where he customarily sat in eating his lunch at a slowed pace. This worried Ukyo as she usually saw him wolfing down his food like there was no tomorrow. She walked up to the tree and looked up at him, "Ran-chan!" She called out. Hoping he would look at her. The pigtailed boy looked down at the chef before standing up on the branch and putting away his food. He jumped away from the branch and landed half a dozen feet away before bouncing again into another tree close by and away from her. This caused Ukyo to fume quietly while she yelled out at him again, "Hey Jackass! Get back here!"

She tried to follow his path but lost sight of him after several minutes. She sat down and grumbled quietly, "He's sure being a jackass today. I thought I was doing him a favor with saving him from marrying his unwanted Fiancée." She stood up and decided that she was ultimately going to catch Ranma after school let out, "Better get out the grill and try to make some sales before lunch is over." She said to herself as she started grilling the okonomiyaki for her classmates.

----

The day continued on, and as Akane watched more notes appear on her Fiancé's desk she found where they were coming from. This piqued her interest as she thought of reasons why the okonomiyaki chef wanted to talk to him. _'That just wont do. I can't have her thinking that the wedding wouldn't have happened if herself and the purple bimbo from hell hadn't entered the Dojo.'_ As the last bell rang to let the student's leave, she noticed both Ukyo and Ranma leaving at the same time. One by 'normal' means and the other by the window. _'Now what are they up to? I hope that she doesn't think she can get her hands on him right away.' _She followed Ukyo out, ignoring her friends that she needed to head to her cooking club meeting place. As she exited the school, she saw the two of them standing by the gate and decided to get closer to listen in on their discussion.

Ukyo finally caught up to the pigtail boy, reaching out and grabbing his arm to forcefully stop him in his tracks. She turned her Fiancé around so he was looking at her before reaming into him about his behavior towards her. "Listen you jerk. What's the big idea not talking to your friend?" The cold stare she received back shocked her for a brief moment as Ranma's storm-blue eyes rounded upon her dark brown orbs.

"I didn't have any reason to talk to you." His response felt just as cold as his stare. The day was going just find for him until this happened. He managed to get through the entire day ignoring Ukyo as he thought about her actions on the day of the wedding. "You acted like you didn't care about any of my choices."

_'But that's not true.'_ Ukyo looked back at Ranma, pleading with him first to try and understand her reasons why she did what she did. "But I'm your friend. You know I care about what you want..." This might not have been the right thing to say to the pigtailed boy. Ukyo took a step back as she saw Ranma's shoulders shaking, not in sadness, but in anger.

"I thought that you were my 'friend!'" He spat out, letting his anger come out in slow waves of power to show how visibly upset he was with her. He took a step towards her as Ukyo herself took several steps back, "What kind of friend tries to make decisions about how their 'friends' are supposed to live?" Another menacing step towards the girl made the rocks next to the foot almost float upwards with the density of ozone and his aura, "Or who they're supposed to marry? Why couldn't you have asked me if it was something that I wanted. Make a decision, Ukyo! Are you my 'friend'?"

"But, Ran-chan... We were engaged by our fathers. I am your Fiancée!" Ukyo cried out, knowing that she had to calm him down or there would be things said. Things that could hurt both of them later in their lives. She bit her lower lip for a moment as she responded once more to the pigtailed boy, "But I'm also your friend. Your father took my dowry. And you promised to always be there for me! We're supposed to be married!"

"Did I ask you to marry me?"

The tone Ranma said that almost made the actual words grow frost. Ukyo had just crossed the line and it was upsetting him even further. Around the school yard, many were originally ignoring the two as they talk. They hadn't bothered anyone and it wasn't something that would cause the gossip mills to start running. However many did stop their conversations just to listen to what was taking place.

The okonomiyaki chef shivered as she felt the waves of power that were originally engulfing her suddenly drop as the temperature also followed. Tendrils of cold ki whipped across her body and made her realize who she was talking to. She almost wanted to back down and let him go. Almost. "But our fathers--"

"Did...I...Ask...You?"

The tone should have set her off. She shouldn't continue with this conversation. It was definitely not going the way she planned at all of how it was going to be, "Wh-what about Akane? Or Shampoo?"

Ranma leaned in and glared harshly at the brunette in a male school uniform, "I haven't asked anyone to marry me. Not you. Not Shampoo. And not the violent uncute gorilla of a wannabe martial artist, Akane." This of course shouldn't have been said in the vicinity where said individual could hear it. By the time Ranma realized that he said that about Akane, he spotted out of the corner of his eye a large mallet heading towards him before being sent into the air by an angry Akane.

"Ranma no BAKA!!!"

----

Akane watched as her Fiancée was rocketed through the air towards an undetermined destination. She took a moment to wonder exactly where he might land in that direction before banishing such thoughts. _'I will never like the jerk. Not after the way he insulted me like that.'_ She muttered mentally, focusing her attention on one of the many girls who were chasing the pigtailed boy, "Well? You couldn't leave well enough alone now could you?"

Ukyo balked at the statement. _'She has the gal to blame all that on me?'_ The chef grabbed two spatulas off her bandoleer and shot back a hateful glare. With Ranma physically gone, whatever fear that was holding her back against him had dissipated and she focused her ire towards the girl who punched her Fiancé, "ME? If you wanted him as your Fiancé, why didn't you walk with him to school like you always do?" She twirled the sharpened weapons around her fingers while advancing towards the dark-haired girl, "Though as he was walking with Nabiki, you might have switched the engagement to her again."

That brought a tint of red to Akane's cheeks as recalled the reason why she wasn't walking with Ranma that morning. The image of her sister and her Fiancé's female form so close together and in such an embrace continued to get a rise in body temperature, "Its not like that!" She denied, shaking her head at the thought that continued to creep up in her mind.

"Not like what?" Ukyo questioned the girl, getting closer to her so she didn't have to broadcast where her thoughts were taking her, "Did you catch them doing something that's only reserved for his Fiancés?" She scowled mentally as she saw Akane turn a brighter red color to indicate she did see something and it was with Nabiki. _'That woman and I are going to have a little talk at some point.'_

_'It's not like that. Nabiki knows that he's mine. Knows that she has no rights to him. That she gave him up to me._' Akane's mind continued to battle it out about who actually had rights to Ranma and why_. 'I thought I had it figured out this morning when I got to school. Now Ukyo brings it back up.'_ Akane turned to the last rival for snaring Ranma, bringing her hand back and snapping it right back out.

**SLAP!**

Ukyo stumbled back slightly as she felt her cheek begin to throb. _'What the hell just happened?'_ she wondered, rubbing the inflamed cheek to bring the light swelling from the slap down. She knew if she retaliated she might not get any chance at all with her Ran-chan. Stepping away from the angered girl she turned away and started for her restaurant. _'Kontatsu should be able to find out what happened to Ran-chan. And then I'll decide from there.' _

----

Not everyone heard what had happened to the pigtailed boy as one of is Fiancée's tried to find out why he wasn't talking to her. Upon the rooftop of the school, the middle Tendo sister looked down upon the scene with a quiet calm that was abnormal for her. She wondered when one of the girls would snap and start to talk to Ranma about the wedding. It seemed that Ukyo was the first one. And from the way Ranma was almost bearing down on the girl, from her perspective, it seemed he just about snapped with what happened earlier that morning with her father.

"...pai."

_'Why couldn't you do that with my little sister, Saotome?'_ She thought to herself as she knew Ranma wouldn't lash out at just anybody for no particular reason, _'Or what about Shampoo? Are you going to do the same thing with her as you did with Ukyo and Daddy?"_

"Sen..."

_'What is going on through that head of yours?'_ She continued to ponder, letting her mind wander for a chance to come up with ideas of what was going through Ranma's mind, _'And what can be done to stop you from going AWOL?"_

"SENPAI!"

Nabiki jolted out of her thoughts and turned towards her subordinate and friend, "Yes, Ryonami?"

The girl in question looked at Nabiki with a questioning glance, along with several others that were a part of Nabiki's betting pools, "Everything all right, Senpai?"

"Everything's all right, Ryonami. Tell the others that we will continue tomorrow like we have before. I just need to make sure our 'investment' isn't going to have any problems." Nabiki looked back towards the gate, just barely catching Akane giving Ukyo a slap before the brunette turned and headed out of the school. She briefly heard Ryonami giving out the announcement and the girls walking away from her so they could head home to do their school work. Once the door shut for the entrance to the roof, Nabiki turned around to see Ryonami hadn't left with the other girls.

"So what's really the matter, Nabiki-senpai?"

Nabiki gave the girl a grin as she knew her answer wouldn't persuade her to ignore the problem. "Trouble in paradise as usual. Though I was hoping to get some time either this week or on the weekend to go dancing."

"So why don't you?" Ryonami walked over to the railing that Nabiki was leaning up against. She stretched her arms in front of her for a moment and looked over at her mentor, "It's not like it stopped you from going on a weeknight anyway."

_'I really haven't told her the reason why though. She might as well figure it out as he isn't going to go out anymore because of a certain group of girls who will hound him.'_ The middle Tendo daughter released a sigh before responding to the question, "I was hoping to get Ranma-kun to go out and loosen up. Maybe get you involved so we could all go clubbing."

"Ranma-kun?" Ryonami grinned as she elbowed Nabiki softly in the ribs, "Deciding to join the 'take the stud and ride him' club?"

_'You have no idea.'_ Nabiki thought before turning towards her friend, "That, my dear Ryonami, is a secret!"

-X-X-X-

The screaming bullet of red and black landed with a giant splash in the middle of one of the canals that ran through the city. While in went a raven-haired male youth, what came out was a drenched female red-head. Sputtering out what water was stuck in her throat as she stepped out onto the shoreline, Ranma-chan slammed her fist into the ground as she stood up, _'That uncute tomboy.' _She grumbled mentally before wringing out what water she could get out of her silk shirt and pants._ 'Every time I say something bad about her and WHAM!'_ It took several minutes to get the excess water out of her clothing before she jumped out of the canal and up to the rooftops. She didn't feel like heading back to the Tendo-ke, knowing that Akane would still be in her foul mood no matter what time she got there. She opted to spend the time thinking about her relationships with all of her Fiancés. What she said to Ukyo rang true. She never asked any of them to marry her. She never asked to have them follow her. In fact, she never wanted any of them in the first place because she wasn't ready to settle down and have a family.

As Ranma jumped around the rooftops she spotted someone she recognized when she was at the club. She dropped down from the roof she was on and started running towards the woman, "Hey!" The woman in question turned around and looked at the redhead with a questioning before Ranma-chan spoke up again. "You were at the club a few nights ago, weren't you?"

The woman with long white hair blinked once, and then twice before responding, "You're Ranma? From the dance club, right? Jinkies, I'd heard about a guy around here that turned into a redheaded girl, but I'd no idea it was you." Ranma-chan gave a light smile as the woman remembered her from the night before.

"Yeah that's me." She walked closer to the older woman and looked at her face directly. She wondered when she would test to see if she really was a girl with the usual response. When it didn't occur, she tilted her head slightly before asking the obvious question, "So this doesn't bother you?"

"Nope." Gina smiled at the redhead before continuing her walk. Ranma-chan followed her as they went into a small cafe at the corner. They slipped in and found a table where they both could talk. "Honestly I've encountered stranger things than someone changing genders. Dragons and Djinn are just the top of that long list." She smiled and flagged down a waitress for some tea and a snack. She looked at Ranma-chan, who just ordered some green tea, before continuing, "I even knew a shapechanger once during my travels."

"Really? Where did you go?"

The older woman smiled at Ranma-chan's enthusiasm about traveling, "Many places. Been through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica just to name a few of the continents that I went through." Their tea arrived and she was told her other order would be a few more minutes as the waitress went to another table to take the order of another customer.

"So what's got you down?" Gina noticed from their small walk that the redhead was contemplating something that occupied her mind. Ranma-chan looked up from her drink and gave a very light movement of her shoulders before she started.

"It seems like nothing is going right for the moment. And everything is falling apart around me." Ranma-chan took a deep breath before continuing, "And I can't seem to get relaxed enough to let the day go by anymore."

"You were plenty relaxed at the club when we were dancing." The older woman smiled and took a few sips of her tea. "Sometimes I go out just to relax. To dance the night away and use that anxiety to keep me dancing. It's a great stress reliever."

Ranma-chan thought of that night when she was dancing. She admitted to herself that dancing did help her relax and made her forget about the problem with the wedding and the parents. Even though they brought everything back in the morning. Gina's snack arrived and she nibbled quietly on it, offering some of her pastry to the redhead to finish it off. "It was fun, and I did feel better after leaving the club."

"See. That's why you just need to take a night or a full day and have fun. Go out dancing again with Nabiki. She seemed to know how to get you to relax." This brought a light blush upon the redhead's face before Gina took the check and paid for their drinks and pastry. "And I think she enjoyed it as well." She got up from the table along with Ranma-chan, before she splashed herself with the rest of her tea. Gina gave him a once over as she noted the change as they left the cafe. "Maybe the next time I see you I'll teach you a different dance step." That brought a smile to the pigtailed boy at the thought of learning something new.

"I might take you up on that offer, Gina-san." Ranma smiled before they parted ways.

-X-X-X-

Ranma sat on the roof of the Tendo-ke after dinner was completed. He decided he was going to ask Nabiki to go out again, but he hadn't been able to find any time to do so without alerting the parents or Akane. It took him a few minutes as he gazed into the starry night. He stood up and walked to the edge of the roof before turning upside down to peer through the glass window of the middle sister's bedroom.

Nabiki groggily got up from her bed after hearing the incessant tapping from her window. She knew of only two things that could do that and she hoped it was one of Akane's suitors picking the wrong window so she could charge them for upsetting her slumber. As she looked at the window, her eyes widened at the sight of Ranma dangling from the edge of the roof over her window, pigtail falling past his head and an expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. _'What could he want at this time of night?'_ She thought to herself, cursing him for waking her up in the middle of the night. She opened her window enough to allow Ranma to enter her room and quietly sit at her desk while she slipped herself back into bed once the window was closed, "Out with it, Saotome. Even I have little patience when trying to get my sleep."

The pigtailed boy sat there, lightly tapping his fingers together as he came up with the words he needed to tell Nabiki, "Would you like to go out this weekend for some dancing?"

"I thought you didn't want me to be hurt if we went out?" Nabiki curled up on her bed, watching the Saotome-heir as he brought his hands together.

"It's true. I don't want you hurt for showing me a good time." He looked at her for a moment, continuing his train of thought, "But I think the great Nabiki Tendo can find some way for us to still have fun."

The smile that adorn the middle sister's face was all the proof he needed that he made the right decision. And it was a decision that he had made for himself.

-X-X-X-


End file.
